Suspected assassin Luigi Mangione reportedly pumped his fist in court on Monday, as video footage rolled allegedly showing officers finding a loaded magazine in his backpack.
According to Fox News, Mangione pumped his fist while sitting in a Manhattan courtroom as body cam footage being played showed Altoona police officer Christy Wasser searching the suspect’s backpack and allegedly finding a magazine with bullets wrapped in wet underwear.
“There was another magazine hidden in his underwear,” Wasser says on the video. Another person then says, “it’s f***ing him,” Fox reported.
The footage was taken inside a McDonald’s, where Mangione was found after a days-long, nationwide manhunt. The Ivy League grad was then the only suspect in the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Mangione was charged last year with stalking and murdering Thompson. The CEO, a father of two, was shot from behind while walking toward a New York City hotel to attend a corporate investor conference for UnitedHealthcare last December.
Prosecution claims Thompson was targeted over the suspect’s grievances with the health insurance industry, citing a “manifesto.” Additionally, recovered shell casings included the inscriptions “delay,” “deny,” and “depose.”
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Mangione, who has pleaded not guilty on all counts, is facing life in prison for a state case against him, and potentially the death penalty if he’s convicted in a federal case.
Currently, the 27-year-old is in week two of a pretrial evidentiary hearing for the state case. His lawyers are asking that key evidence be suppressed in the trial, arguing that the evidence was found on Mangione without a warrant and before Mangione was read his Miranda rights. The evidence in question is crucial to the case, including the 9mm handgun allegedly matching the murder weapon, and a notebook that prosecutors say contains writings revealing Mangione’s motive for the assassination.
Mangione’s team also wants statements tossed that the suspect made to police, which they say were made before Mangione was read his Miranda rights.
The state is arguing that the search of Mangione’s backpack was lawful and not unreasonable since officers needed to search the suspect’s bag over safety concerns, to make sure there were no weapons or dangerous items on Mangione when they found him at the McDonald’s.
The prosecution also argues that Mangione spoke to them voluntarily and before he was in formal custody, so the Miranda requirement doesn’t apply. They also note that the only statement they plan to use is when officers asked Mangione for his name, and he allegedly gave a false name in response.
Related: Luigi Mangione Groupies Flock To Courthouse In Support Of Alleged Assassin