CEO ‘killer’ Luigi Mangione’s sick fans beam at him in court and scream outside with disturbing ‘Jesus mural’ and merch

TWISTED supporters of alleged assassin Luigi Mangione beamed at him in court and hurled sick chants outside on Friday, with some even traveling across the country to attend his hearing. Mangione was hauled back to the Lower Manhattan courthouse on Friday afternoon - his first hearing since pleading not guilty to murder and terror state charges in December.

In court, defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo fought to have Mangione removed from federal custody after confirming New York State will get to try their case against him first. Mangione, who is facing three separate indictments in New York, Pennsylvania, and by the Department of Justice, is being housed in the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his extradition to New York on December 19, 2024.

State prosecutors began the hearing by listing the evidence they had shared with Mangione's defense team. The evidence included bodycam footage and medical examiner files. However, Agnifilo argued her team still needed more material from prosecutors before she ripped into New York City Police Department officials and Mayor Eric Adams for appearing in an HBO documentary where they discussed evidence of the case.

Agnifilo later spoke privately with Mangione before the hearing ended. Outside the courthouse, Agnifilo criticized the Department of Justice for refusing to turn Mangione over to state custody. "The Department of Justice has refused to allow him to be in state custody despite the fact that they all agreed that the state court is going to go first," Agnifilo said.

"Now, this is problematic for several reasons. Number 1, the federal government is still considering whether to execute Luigi and considering whether to seek the death penalty. "We are fighting that simultaneously while going first here in state court and it impacts our ability to meet with him before court, after court.

"He's constantly surrounded by law enforcement. He's in shackles. He was wearing a vest today, I don't know what it looked like but it was a very serious vest with his legs shackled, and his arms shackled.". Agnifilo continued, "He's being treated differently - because he's being held in federal custody - than any other person who would be facing serious murder one charges in New York.

"I made a record in court today that I don't understand this show of danger is for. "When I go visit Luigi at MDC in Brooklyn, I sit with him, he is unshackled. He walks around freely in the visiting area, we sit in a room together without law enforcement hovering over us.

"But for some reason here despite all the law enforcement, they need him to be wearing this vest, they need him to be shackled, and they stand right over us and we get no time with him.". Mangione was escorted into the courtroom by heavily armed police officers and was shackled by the legs and wrists as he wore a black bulletproof vest.

The accused killer showed no emotion as a sea of reporters and supporters gathered in the courtroom hallway. He wore a forest green cable-knit sweatshirt with a white collar shirt underneath. In court, Agnifilo requested to have Mangione unshackled during his hearing but was denied by Judge Carro, citing security reasons.

Agnifilo argued how her client's right to a fair trial was being "impacted" by the NYPD's chief of detectives, Joseph Kenny, and Mayor Adams. She ripped Adams and Kenny for their appearance on the HBO documentary, Who Is Luigi Mangione, and for discussing evidence in the interview that had not been shared with her legal team.

"Which brings me to the most important point we made today is that Luigi's right to a fair trial is being infringed upon," Agnifilo said. "He is being publicly treated as guilty, as having the presumption of guilty, as opposed to the presumption of innocence, which is what he is entitled to.

"Of course, I understand the NYPD's need for a press conference before an arrest, or after an arrest, which they did here, I didn't like it but they did it and I understood it. "What I did not understand, how shocking it was was that this week on HBO in a documentary I see the chief of detectives and the New York City mayor, full hair and makeup done, sitting down and giving an interview, for television, and talking about the evidence in Luigi's case.

"Talking about paperwork that we don't have, talking about forensics that we have not received, I guess we have them now today, but I didn't when I was sitting there, learning about the case. "Hearing an actor playing Luigi, reading from a journal that they say is Luigi's and we have yet to receive it from the prosecution.

"So, it's outrageous that they have time to go and prejudice Mr. Mangione's ability to receive a fair trial and go out and make these statements and not give this to us.". Agnifilo warned about the potential for a judge to suppress the evidence discussed in the documentary, which could impact her case.