Luigi Mangione appears in Manhattan Criminal Court for an evidence hearing, Thursday , Dec. 18, 2025, in New York. (Shannon Stapleton/Pool Photo via AP)2026-01-09T05:00:09Z NEW YORK (AP) Luigi Mangione is due in federal court Friday for a pivotal hearing in his fight to bar the government from seeking the death penalty against him in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.Mangiones lawyers contend that authorities prejudiced his case by turning his December 2024 arrest into a Marvel movie spectacle and by publicly declaring their desire to see him executed even before he was formally indicted.If that doesnt work, they argue, the charge that has enabled the government to seek the death penalty murder by firearm should be thrown out because it is legally flawed.Federal prosecutors say Mangiones lawyers are wrong, countering that the murder charge is legally sufficient and that pretrial publicity, even when intense is hardly a constitutional crisis. Any concerns about public perceptions can be alleviated by carefully questioning prospective jurors about their knowledge of the case, prosecutors wrote in a court filing. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to federal and state murder charges, which carry the possibility of life in prison.Fridays hearing, Mangiones first trip to Manhattan federal court since his April 25 arraignment, is also expected to cover the defenses bid to exclude certain evidence. U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett has said she also plans to set a trial date. A cause clbre for people upset with the health insurance industry, Mangiones court appearances have draw dozens of supporters, some of whom wear green clothing or carry signs expressing solidarity with him. Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel. Follow on Mangiones lawyers have asked the judge to bar the government from using certain items found in a backpack during his arrest, arguing that the search was illegal because police had not yet obtained a warrant. Those items include a gun that police said matched the one used to kill Thompson and a notebook in which he purportedly described his intent to wack a health insurance executive. One big question is whether Garnett will need to hold a separate hearing on the evidence issue like one last month that took three weeks in Mangiones parallel state murder case.Mangiones lawyers want one. Prosecutors dont. They contend police were justified in searching the backpack to make sure there were no dangerous items and that the gun, notebook and other evidence would have eventually been found anyway.Thompson, 50, was killed Dec. 4, 2024, as he walked to a Manhattan hotel for UnitedHealth Groups annual investor conference. Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting him from behind. Police say delay, deny and depose were written on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.Mangione, 27, the Ivy League-educated scion of a wealthy Maryland family, was arrested five days later at a McDonalds in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of Manhattan.Hes already had success paring down his state case. In September, a judge threw out state terrorism charges against him. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced last year that she was directing federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty, declaring that capital punishment was warranted for a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.Mangiones lawyers argue that Bondis announcement, which she followed with Instagram posts and a TV appearance, showed the decision was based on politics, not merit. Her remarks tainted the grand jury process that resulted in his indictment a few weeks later, they said.Bondis statements and other official actions, including a choreographed perp walk in which armed officers led Mangione from a Manhattan pier, have violated Mr. Mangiones constitutional and statutory rights and have fatally prejudiced this death penalty case, his lawyers said.On Wednesday, federal prosecutors pushed back on what they said were the defenses meritless and misleading claims that Bondis decision was tainted by her past work as a lobbyist for a firm whose clients include UnitedHealthcares parent company. MICHAEL R. SISAK Sisak is an Associated Press reporter covering law enforcement, courts and prisons. He is based in New York. twitter mailto