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The presiding judge in the federal trial of Luigi Mangione, accused of being an Ivy League assassin, dismissed his defense team’s request to postpone the trial. She expressed her unwillingness to be “held hostage” by the scheduling conflicts arising from a concurrent state court case against him.
At 11:24 a.m., U.S. Marshals brought Mangione into the courtroom. He appeared in a tan prison jumpsuit with rolled-up sleeves and was restrained with leg shackles, though not handcuffed.
Moments later, the judge made her entrance.
Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a key defense attorney for Mangione, requested additional months to adequately prepare for the federal case, emphasizing the need to focus on his state trial first.
Luigi Mangione is seen attending an evidentiary hearing for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson at the Manhattan Supreme Court in New York on December 18, 2025. (Photo by Shannon Stapleton/Pool via Reuters)
“I don’t think what we’re asking for is unreasonable,” she said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Dominic Gentile argued that the defense’s logistical concerns could be addressed by changing the jury questionnaire schedule, which was set for a capital case. Mangione no longer faces the potential death penalty.
He added that both cases are expected to rely on the same facts and witnesses.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson pictured in an undated portrait provided by UnitedHealth. The executive was shot from behind and killed on his way to an investor conference in New York City in what prosecutors have described as a politically motivated assassination. (AP Photo/UnitedHealth Group via AP)
Judge Margaret Garnett said she was more concerned about the jury selection process rather than trial prep — telling the parties she doesn’t envision a particularly complex proceeding.
She said her role is to ensure Mangione gets a fair trial in her courtroom, and she said whatever happens in the state case is not her concern.
Mangione faces numerous charges at the state and federal level in connection with the December 2024 assassination of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two from Minnesota who was in New York City for a work conference when a gunman snuck up behind him and opened fire.
Members of the New York police crime scene unit investigate bullets lying on the sidewalk at the scene outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan where Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was fatally shot, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in New York. (Stefan Jeremiah/AP)
The state trial, scheduled to take place before his federal trial, is expected to garner massive public attention and make jury selection more difficult, she explained.
“I’m a little troubled,” she said.
After a roughly 30-minute hearing, she proposed keeping close to the schedule put forth in February, with jury selection in the fall and opening statements on Oct. 26 or Nov. 2.
UnitedHealthcare CEO slaying suspect Luigi Mangione pictured at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday, Dec. 9, 2024. (Pennsylvania State Police)
The federal hearing came just under a month after a New York judge told Mangione’s defense to be ready for the state trial on June 8. Judge Gregory Carro had floated the idea of delaying it only if the federal trial was delayed first.
Bailiffs escorted Mangione out of that hearing after an unexpected outburst in which he claimed to be the victim of double jeopardy.
“It’s the same trial twice,” he said. “One plus one is two. Double jeopardy by any common sense.”
Both courts have dismissed the most severe counts, but Mangione still faces life in prison if convicted. He also faces lesser charges in Pennsylvania, where police arrested him in a McDonald’s restaurant, in connection with the case.
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