ALTOONA — A Manhattan judge unsealed police body camera footage of Luigi Mangione's arrest on Friday. The footage documents the December 9, 2024 detention of the former software engineer at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office released the body camera footage overnight. The unsealed footage is from body cameras worn by eight Altoona police officers who responded to a 911 call reporting a suspicious person at the McDonald's. Officers found Mangione seated at a table wearing a ski hat, surgical face mask, and winter coat. Officers asked Mangione to lower his face mask.

An officer said, "That’s 100% him." Another officer responded off camera, "I told you, man." An officer asked Mangione, "You’re a little nervous right now. Why are you nervous?." An officer warned Mangione, "You’re under official police investigation right now." An officer warned Mangione, "You give a false name to us again, you’re gonna be arrested for false ID." Mangione responded, "I clearly shouldn’t have."

Police transported Mangione to the police station. Police conducted a strip search of Mangione at the station. Police searched Mangione and his backpack at the station.

Police recovered a 9mm handgun from Mangione's backpack at the station. The recovered handgun was confirmed as the weapon used in Brian Thompson's killing. Police recovered a silencer from Mangione's backpack. Police recovered another ammunition magazine from Mangione's backpack. Police recovered a journal and handwritten notes from Mangione's backpack. Prosecutors described the handwritten notes as Mangione's manifesto.

Brian Thompson was 50 years old. Brian Thompson was an executive from Minnesota. Brian Thompson was the CEO of United Healthcare.

Brian Thompson was shot in Manhattan. Brian Thompson was walking to a midtown Manhattan hotel for his company’s annual investor conference when he was shot. Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim stated that Mangione allegedly killed Brian Thompson because Thompson held the position of chief executive officer of a health insurance company. Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim stated that Mangione traveled to New York to stalk and shoot Thompson in an attempt to broadcast Mangione’s views across the country.

Mangione pleaded guilty to federal stalking charges in August. Mangione admitted to fatally shooting Thompson in his federal guilty plea. Mangione faces life in prison when sentenced on federal charges in December.

Mangione faces murder charges in New York state court. Mangione faces second-degree murder, weapons, and forgery charges in state court. Mangione's lawyers sought to have the state case thrown out. Mangione's defense attorneys argued the search of his backpack violated his rights. Mangione's defense attorneys have asked Judge Carro to dismiss the state murder case following his guilty plea in federal court. Defense attorneys argue that prosecuting Mangione in New York would constitute double jeopardy and violate his constitutional rights. Judge Carro has yet to rule on the motion to dismiss the state case.

Why It Matters

The release of the body camera footage provides a visual record of the arrest that led to the recovery of the weapon used in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The footage shows the moment officers identified Mangione and the subsequent discovery of evidence, including a handgun, silencer, and what prosecutors termed a manifesto. This evidence forms the basis of the state murder charges Mangione faces in New York, separate from the federal stalking charges to which he has already pleaded guilty.

The legal proceedings show the intersection of federal and state jurisdictions in high-profile cases. While Mangione has admitted to the shooting in federal court, his defense team continues to challenge the admissibility of evidence seized during the arrest in Pennsylvania. The outcome of the motion to dismiss the state case will determine whether Mangione faces trial in New York for second-degree murder, weapons, and forgery charges, or if the federal resolution precludes further state prosecution.

Timeline

On December 1, 2024, eight Altoona police officers traveled to New York to testify about the arrest and search during a three-week evidentiary hearing last December. On the same date, Mangione's lawyers unsuccessfully sought to suppress key evidence, including his initial statements and items seized at arrest.

A judge excluded from evidence the magazine recovered from Mangione's backpack at the restaurant. The judge allowed prosecutors to use evidence recovered during a later search at the police station, including a firearm, another magazine, and handwritten notes. New York State Judge Gregory Carro ruled that most of the evidence would be allowed at trial. Judge Carro placed the videos under seal.

What's New

Additional reporting reveals that in 2021, the Altoona Police Department received a complaint about a man wearing a face mask and acting suspiciously near a local McDonald’s, which matches the behavior of Mangione during his arrest in 2024, according to a police incident report. In 2020, the Altoona Police Department implemented a new policy requiring officers to document any suspicious behavior reported by the public, which may have contributed to the initial 911 call that led to Mangione’s arrest in 2024. Altoona Police Officer Christy Wasser testified that she responded on Dec.

9 to a call about a suspicious person at a McDonald's. She found a loaded handgun, a silencer, and a red notebook, which she called a 'manifesto' in court.