Protesters cheered at Luigi Mangione’s defense team at his second court appearance

A group of protesters stood outside a Manhattan courtroom while Luigi Mangione, the young man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, attended a hearing.

According to Reuters, the court hearing was brief and centered around prosecutors' progress in handing the case evidence to Mr. Mangione’s defense.

Still, Mangione’s defense attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said police had illegally searched his client during the arrest. She said the defense will ask the evidence gathered during that search to be dismissed.

In a previous hearing, the Attorney questioned whether her client would receive a fair trial and accused the state of treating the case in an “utterly political” way.

Ms. Agnifilo expressly referred to Mangione’s perp walk, surrounded by heavy security and accompanied by Mayor Eric Adams. She also complained about the conflicting charges.

According to CNN, the crowd outside the courtroom—the same one used in President Trump’s hush money case—received her with applause as she entered the building.

The protesters had hanged ‘wanted’ signs with the faces of industry leaders. The WSJ reported about similar sings appearing around lower Manhattan last year.

The accused's popularity became a reckoning moment for the industry. In a New York Times op-ed, United Group's CEO, UnitedHealthcare's parent company, admitted that the system is flawed.

Alex Goldenberg of the online threat tracking institute Network Contagion Research Institute told the newspaper that the social media discourse, unlike during other acts of public violence, is “mainstream.”

According to ABC News, UnitedHealthcare's official Facebook page had to block the comments on a post memorializing Mr. Thompson after it was filled with laughing emojis.

Photo: UnitedHealth Group / Facebook

However, the online anger was not all insensitive jokes. Some people took the event as an opportunity to share how the insurance company denied them treatment, making it easier for others to undermine the violence of the act.

In his first public statement since the arrest, Luigi Mangione said that people had been sending letters with their stories to the NY prison where he awaits trial.

“I am overwhelmed — and grateful for — everyone who has written me,” he said in the statement published on a website the defense set up to post case updates.

Photo: Luigi Mangione Info

Immediately after the killing, jokes floated all around social media about people not collaborating with the police to protect the identity of the killer or delay the investigation.

According to NBC, the growing community of online detectives that usually jump to help police after a violent incident like that decided to deny the authorities their help.

Other online users were upset about the amount of resources the New York police invested in solving the crime, compared to other similar murders. "I guess some lives are worth more" a reader commented on a New York Times article.