As the trial of alleged assassin Luigi Mangione moves forward, an unexpected entity has once again come under a microscope: the ubiquitous fast food chain McDonald’s.
For the unaware, Mangione stands accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in cold blood in December 2024.
Thompson was in New York City for a conference, when Mangione allegedly walked up right behind him outside of a hotel and fired the fatal shots.
The case captured national attention, for obvious reasons, and the court of public opinion appeared to be split.
On the one hand, you had Mangione supporters who felt that he had done something honorable by “fighting back” against outsized healthcare costs and unresponsive insurance companies. On the other hand, you had a number of people who — despite whatever reservations they may have regarding the healthcare system — simply could not condone murder.
For both types of people, following this trial has been something of a roller coaster, and the ride isn’t slowing down.
According to Fox News, Mangione’s defense team has been pushing hard to have critical evidence tossed out due to the way it was collected at McDonald’s.
The defense is arguing that the alleged murder weapon, handwritten notes, and other items seized from Mangione’s backpack were inadmissible because the alleged killer’s constitutional rights were supposedly violated.
In December, Mangione’s defense argued that not only was the evidence inadmissible, but Mangione’s own words should also be inadmissible due to him declining to answer questions with authorities (even though he did so anyway after declining to speak).
Fox News reported that prosecutors are urging the judge to allow the evidence, claiming that the search of his bag and the comments procured were done correctly.
Prosecutors claimed that all actions taken by authorities in Altoona, Pennsylvania — where the McDonald’s Mangione was caught at was located — were done “reasonably.”
“Altoona officers obtained a search warrant for the backpack, thereby establishing an independent source for recovering the backpack’s contents,” assistant district attorney Joel Seidemann said, per Fox News.
While the judge mulls over this request, the odds of evidence being gutted in this case are greater than zero.
Some of the federal charges were tossed out by a judge in January, taking the death penalty off the table for the alleged assassin.
That decision ultimately left Mangione with just two federal stalking counts, though they can have a maximum sentence of life without parole.
Federal charges are not the only issue Mangione has to contend with, however, as he is also facing state charges for the alleged murder of the 50-year-old Thompson.
The state trial is set to begin June 8.
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