At precisely 09:42:07 UTC on October 11, 2025, Business Insider released an exclusive report accessible only to its subscribers, detailing a major development in the ongoing federal prosecution of Luigi Mangione. Readers were encouraged to log in or subscribe in order to access the full story, which illuminated new legal strategies emerging in a case that has drawn national attention since its inception following the tragic events of late 2024.
According to the report, defense counsel representing Luigi Mangione—who is twenty-seven years old—have filed a comprehensive legal motion in federal court challenging key elements of the indictment brought against their client. This new filing seeks to have several of the criminal counts dismissed, particularly those arising from the December 2024 killing of Brian Thompson, the Chief Executive Officer of UnitedHealthcare. Among the charges under dispute is the gravest one: a federal count of murder committed through the use of a firearm, the sole charge within the indictment that could render Mangione eligible for capital punishment under federal law.
In a motion submitted to the Manhattan federal court on Saturday, Mangione’s attorneys urged the presiding judge to strike down what they labeled as fundamentally defective counts within the indictment. Specifically, they targeted Count Three—the death-eligible charge—and Count Four, asserting that both failed to meet the statutory threshold required to constitute valid offenses. Their argument hinges on the claim that the underlying stalking charges described in Counts One and Two cannot legally be defined as ‘crimes of violence’ under controlling federal precedent. Without this critical designation, the subsequent counts that depend upon them, according to the defense, must be dismissed as a matter of law.
The defense filing further contends that the prosecution should be prohibited from introducing into evidence either Mangione’s statements made to law enforcement officers at the McDonald’s restaurant where his arrest took place or the contents of his backpack seized at the scene. Counsel maintains that the interrogating officers allegedly failed to properly advise Mangione of his constitutional rights before conducting their questioning, thereby violating the protections afforded under Miranda v. Arizona. Moreover, they argue that the subsequent search of his bag was conducted without a valid warrant or sufficient probable cause, rendering any materials obtained from it inadmissible under the exclusionary rule.
This latest maneuver by the defense aligns with a broader and consistent theme in their strategy: to limit or eliminate the possibility of the death penalty being pursued in connection with Thompson’s death. Earlier motions by Mangione’s counsel requested that U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett formally prohibit federal prosecutors from seeking capital punishment. While Judge Garnett has yet to issue a final determination on that matter, legal scholars interviewed by Business Insider have characterized the prospect of a death sentence as remote, citing prevailing trends in federal death penalty litigation and prosecutorial discretion in similar cases.
Recent months have also brought smaller but meaningful victories for the defense team. In a parallel state-level proceeding, a New York Supreme Court justice, Gregory Carro, dismissed the two most severe terrorism-related charges that had been filed against Mangione, agreeing with defense arguments that the evidence and statutory construction were insufficient to sustain those counts. This ruling, though separate from the federal indictment, represented a significant procedural win and demonstrated the court’s receptiveness to careful statutory challenges advanced by the defense.
Mangione currently faces three distinct prosecutorial actions arising from the same incident—the fatal shooting of Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan in December 2024. Across all venues, he has consistently entered pleas of not guilty, maintaining his position that he did not commit the crimes alleged. As these proceedings unfold, the case remains a focal point of public and legal scrutiny, encapsulating complex questions of criminal procedure, federal charging standards, and the ongoing debate surrounding the appropriate application of the death penalty in contemporary American jurisprudence.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/luigi-mangione-defense-attorneys-federal-criminal-case-2025-10
