(NewsNation) — Luigi Mangione’s defense attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, has accused law enforcement of taking the contents of a notebook they say they found on him when he was arrested and leaking it to the media.
In doing so, she contends in a new court filing that it was done to whip the public into a frenzy, leading to upgraded charges that leave Mangione eligible for the death penalty concerning the alleged killing of UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson.
Mangione’s lawyer is questioning the use of the word “manifesto” in general and saying whatever was allegedly found on him wasn’t a manifesto because to be one, it needs to be released by the person who wrote it.
Luigi Mangione accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO
Mangione, 26, has been charged with the murder of former UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Police claim, on the morning of the shooting, Mangione was fully masked and wearing a hood before shooting Thompson near the Hilton Hotel.
Thompson was shot in the back and the leg and was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
FILE – Luigi Nicholas Mangione leaves the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pa., Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File) 
Luigi Mangione appears in Manhattan Criminal court for his arraignment on state murder and terror charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in New York. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP) 
NEW YORK, US – FEBRUARY 21: Luigi Mangione’s supporters gathered outside Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday as he appeared in the court for his hearing on New York state murder and terrorism charges. New York City, U.S., February 21, 2025. (Photo by Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images) 
Luigi Mangione supporters hold signs outside the Supreme Court on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025 in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah) 
El sospechoso Luigi Mangione es llevado al tribunal del condado de Blair el martes 10 de diciembre de 2024, en Hollidaysburg, Pensilvania (Benjamin B. Braun/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP). 
A demonstrator holds up a sign while waiting for the arrival of Luigi Mangione for his arraignment at Manhattan Criminal Court, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah) 
Luigi Mangione is escorted into Manhattan Criminal court for his arraignment on state murder and terror charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) 
Suspect Luigi Mangione is taken into the Blair County Courthouse on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Hollidaysburg, Pa. (Benjamin B. Braun/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP) 
Suspect Luigi Mangione is taken into the Blair County Courthouse on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Hollidaysburg, Pa. (Benjamin B. Braun/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)
After days of searching, Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He was denied bail in December and pleaded not guilty.
He allegedly wrote a manifesto that mentioned the insurance industry. “Frankly, these parasites had it coming,” the manifesto stated. It also spoke directly to the federal agents in the case.
Luigi Mangione facing rare New York charge
The Maryland native is facing a rare New York state charge of murder as an act of terrorism, which his lawyer argues is down to “wildly irresponsible” behavior from law enforcement. Per the court filing, Mangione’s attorney intends to challenge the veracity of the supposed “manifesto” as well as how it was obtained.
In Altoona, Pennsylvania, where Mangione was arrested, his attorneys have also filed paperwork to try to have all of the contents of that backpack, deemed inadmissible, as well as his arrest in general.
Request for Luigi Mangione to have laptop
Also in Monday’s court filing, a request was made for Mangione to have a laptop as he awaits trial in the killing of Thompson.
Mangione’s lawyers proposed that he get a laptop configured solely to let him view a vast amount of documents, videos and other material in the case. Similar limited-laptop provisions have been made for some other defendants in the federal lockup where Mangione is being held.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.