‘Be ready’: NY judge sets June trial for Luigi Mangione, leapfrogging feds

MANHATTAN (CN) — A New York judge on Friday set an ambitious June 8 trial date for Luigi Mangione’s state case, telling the defense team to “be ready” amid pleas for a delay.

New York Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro lamented from the bench that a second murder case against Mangione in federal court was initially slated to go first — last month, U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett set an Oct. 13 start date for the federal trial.

“It appears the federal government has reneged on its agreement to let the state, which has done most of the work in this case, go first,” Carro said. “With that in mind, I’m going to set an earlier date than the federal government of June 8 for trial.”

Mangione’s defense lawyer Karen Agnifilo was visibly frustrated with his decision, which she called “utterly unfair.” With the federal case set for October, she explained to Carro the numerous deadlines her team needed to meet to prepare for that case. She’ll now need to tackle those simultaneously while defending Mangione in state court.

“This is a tug-of-war between two prosecution offices,” she exclaimed. “We will not be ready on June 8.”

“Well, be ready,” Carro shot back.

Mangione, too, appeared upset by the ruling. Dressed in beige prison garb and chained at the hands and hip, he shouted to the courtroom gallery at the conclusion of the hearing while he was escorted out of the courtroom.

“One plus one equals two,” Mangione said. “It’s double jeopardy by any commonsense judgment.”

It was the first audible statement he’s yelled to the gallery throughout these proceedings.

Mangione’s federal trial date of October was set after Garnett, a Joe Biden appointee, blocked the government from seeking the death penalty. But the government can appeal that ruling, which could delay Mangione’s federal case into 2027.

If that happens, Carro said he’d move the state trial back three months from June 8 to Sept. 8, giving the defense more breathing room.

Still, it’s a blow to Mangione’s defense. Should the federal case have gone to trial first, it could have forced state prosecutors to drop their case due to double jeopardy. Carro doesn’t think that’s fair, given the fact that state agencies have done “all the work,” he said.

Mangione faces life in prison in both cases. His top count in the state case is second-degree murder. In federal court, he’s charged with stalking and killing Thompson.

Supporters of Mangione lined several benches in the back of the courtroom Friday and embraced after the hearing. Outside of the courthouse, one shouted, “This is ridiculous!" Another, discussing Carro, said, “I hate him” and decried how he spoke to Agnifilo.

Charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Dec. 4, 2024, Mangione has been hailed as a folk hero for his supposed disdain for the for-profit health care industry, which prosecutors are using to prove that he sought to ignite an uprising against other insurance executives.

To make their case, they’re looking to use handwritten journals found in Mangione’s backpack that emphasized his wish to spread a “message” about “everything wrong with our health system.”

Mangione’s defense team is seeking to suppress those journals, along with other evidence recovered from his backpack on the day of his arrest — including a pistol, a silencer and ammunition. Amid those efforts, Carro presided over a weekslong evidentiary hearing late last year to hear prosecutors’ arguments that this evidence was recovered lawfully.

He set a deadline for May 18 to rule on those suppression motions — just weeks before the trial is set to open.

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