Lawyers for Luigi Mangione are blasting the Trump administration for comparing their client to the man who allegedly murdered Charlie Kirk.
In the two weeks since Kirk was shot and killed, numerous government officials — from the president on down — have likened the shooting to other recent high-profile acts of violence, including the murder of healthcare exec Brian Thompson.
And in a letter filed in federal court this week, lawyers for Mangione allege that such rhetoric is a way of denying their client his right to a fair trial.
Lawyers for Luigi Mangione say Trump administration is interfering with due process
“The Government has indelibly prejudiced Mr. Mangione by baselessly linking him to unrelated violent events, and left-wing extremist groups, despite there being no connection or affiliation,” the letter reads.
“A recent, tragic, high-profile murder has only increased this prejudicial rhetoric.”
Elsewhere in the letter, Mangione’s lawyers referenced a September 18 Fox News interview in which Trump alleged that Mangione “shot someone in the back as clear as you’re looking at me.”
“He shot him right in the middle of the back – instantly dead, the president stated, adding, “This is a sickness. This really has to be studied and investigated.”
They also pointed to remarks made by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on September 22, when she referred to Mangione as a “left-wing assassin [who] shot United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson right in the back in New York City.”
Similar comments were made by deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, who, when referring to Mangione, said that “of course the health care CEO was brutally gunned down by another self-described so-called anti-fascist that was then celebrated by other self-described anti-fascists, so of course, really communist revolutionaries.”
Mangione attorneys claim efforts to connect their client with Kirk shooter may prejudice potential jurors
“The attempts to connect Mr. Mangione with these incidents and paint him as a ‘left wing’ violent extremist are false, prejudicial, and part of a greater political narrative that has no place in any criminal case, especially one where the death penalty is at stake,” Mangione’s lawyers wrote.
Mangione’s legal team scored a major victory last week when a New York court ruled that the two state terrorism charges clearly did not apply to his alleged crime.
Currently, Mangione’s lawyers are working to get prosecutors to agree not to push for the death penalty.
No trial date has been set.
We’ll have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.