Sean ‘Diddy’ Comb’s lawyer Marc Agnifilo has joined the defense team of alleged murderer Luigi Mangione, in a bizarre overlap of two of the country’s most famous ongoing criminal cases.
Mangione landed in Manhattan on Thursday to be arraigned in the murder of UnitedHeathcare CEO Brian Thompson, and Agnifilo was among the attorneys waiting to represent him in court.
The alleged killer of Unitedhealthcare CEO Brian Thompson had already detained Agnifilo’s wife, former Manhattan Chief Deputy Karen Friedman Agnifilo.
But it was a surprise when Marc Agnifilo was also seen walking into Manhattan federal court where Mangione was arraigned on Thursday.
The power couple reportedly met with Mangione before his arraignment, where he was charged with federal crimes including murder, stalking and weapons violations, escalating the case following his indictment on state charges.
They also drove to Mangione in prison in Pennsylvania earlier this week.
Marc Agnifilo has worked for several high-profile suspects, including cult leader Keith Raniere and “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli.
Mangione was taken from Pennsylvania to New York by private plane after waiving extradition at a hearing in Pennsylvania. He was then transferred to a helicopter and flown to downtown Manhattan to face murder charges.
The NYPD made a huge show of force when Mangione landed on a Manhattan helipad
The alleged killer had already detained Agnifilo’s wife, former Manhattan Chief Assistant District Attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo. But it was a surprise when Marc Agnifilo was also spotted walking into Manhattan federal court where Mangione was arraigned on Thursday.
He has since been taken into custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, the same prison where Diddy awaits trial on sex trafficking charges.
The newly unveiled federal indictment against Mangione includes more details about the notes police say they found in his notebook when he was arrested last week — including his desire to “hit” the CEO of an insurance company.
Prosecutors say Mangione wrote repeatedly about his disdain for the health insurance industry and its executives. In an August 15 post, Mangione reportedly wrote how “the details are finally coming together” and that “the goal is insurance” because “it checks every box.”
On October 22, Mangione allegedly wrote: ‘1.5 months. This investor conference is a real windfall… and – most importantly – the message becomes self-evident.” In the same message, Mangione describes his intention to ‘move’ the CEO of an insurance company.
Mangione appeared in court in Manhattan wearing street clothes: a white button-down shirt, a navy blue three-quarter-zip sweater and khaki pants. He had no cuffs on his hand, but he did have cuffs on his ankles.
He has not yet entered a plea.
In addition to separate state charges in New York and Pennsylvania, Mangione also faces federal charges of murder by use of a firearm, stalking and felony firearm, according to the complaint.
Mangione was met on a helipad in downtown New York by dozens of armed NYPD officers, as well as Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
Luigi Mangione, center, is flanked by his attorneys Karen Agnifilo, left, and Marc Agnifilo, right, during his first court appearance in Manhattan
The power couple reportedly met with Mangione before his arraignment, where he was charged with federal crimes including murder, stalking and weapons violations
Sean “Diddy” Combs attends a pre-trial conference in his sex trafficking case on December 8 with his attorney Marc Agnifilo
Mangione was met on a helipad in downtown New York by dozens of armed NYPD officers, as well as Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
Mangione will be seen in Manhattan on Thursday before his arraignment
One of the federal charges against Mangione, murder with a firearm, could carry the possibility of the death penalty, although prosecutors have not said whether they will seek it.
Earlier Thursday, fans carrying banners flocked to Pennsylvania to see the alleged killer, whose good looks have made him a pin-up for some Internet users, leaving many others outraged by Mangione’s alleged crimes.
The alleged killer waived a preliminary hearing on the forgery and weapons charges in Pennsylvania in exchange for the prosecutor giving him a 20-page investigative report from the Altoona Police Department. Mangione also agreed to be extradited to New York.
Earlier this week, he was indicted on charges of murder as an act of terrorism, under a New York state law that allows harsher penalties when a killing is aimed at frightening citizens or influencing government.
NYPD officers were present in court for the extradition hearing, ready to bring the suspect back to New York. CNN reports that Mangione will be flown into the city later on Thursday.
Dozens of protesters descended on the court to support Mangione in a bizarre continuation of a public fixation on the alleged killer. They held signs that read, “Health insurance practices are terrorizing people!” and ‘Death by denial is murder!’
The 26-year-old was taken straight to the airport to board a private plane that will take him to New York City to face murder charges for the killing of UnitedHeathcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Mangione’s good looks have made him a hero by some netizens, sparking anger among those outraged by his alleged crime
Protesters showed up outside a courthouse in Pennsylvania on Thursday to support Mangione
Supporters of Luigi Mangione line up outside the Blair County Courthouse complex in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania
At least two of them were dressed as Luigi from the video game Super Mario Bros.
Several TikTok users shared on the platform that they had driven as much as six hours to attend the hearing.
Some reportedly even flew from California to support the alleged killer.
In a court filing last week, Mangione’s Pennsylvania attorney, Tom Dickey, argued that prosecutors have not shown there is sufficient evidence to hold Mangione, that he was in New York when Thompson was killed or that he is on the run for justice.
Mangione, of Towson, Maryland, was arrested on December 9 when police were called to a McDonald’s restaurant on a strip mall in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after it was reported that he matched the description of Thompson’s killer.
Thompson was shot in the street as he walked to the hotel where his Minnesota-based company was holding an investor conference.
The shooting was captured on surveillance video, but the suspect evaded police before Mangione was captured about 275 miles (446 kilometers) west of New York.
Mangione is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson at point-blank range on December 5
Surveillance camera footage showed the gunman, believed to be Mangione, shooting UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Hilton hotel in downtown Manhattan on December 4.
Authorities say Mangione had the gun that killed Thompson, a passport, a fake ID and about $10,000 in U.S. and foreign currency.
His attorney, Dickey, has questioned the evidence for the forgery charge and the legal basis for a firearms charge. He had previously indicated that Mangione would fight extradition to New York while in a Pennsylvania state prison.
Mangione, an Ivy League computer science graduate from a prominent family, carried a handwritten letter in which he called health insurers “parasitic” and complained about corporate greed, according to a law enforcement bulletin obtained by The Associated Press last week.