A new controversy is unfolding in and outside the courtroom in the Luigi Mangione case — not over the allegations against the accused CEO killer, but over city-issued press credentials granted to some of his supporters.
The issue has drawn attention from court reporters and public officials after several Mangione supporters appeared outside Manhattan criminal court on Tuesday wearing official New York City press passes following a pretrial hearing.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Wednesday the credentials issued to three specific individuals should not have been approved.
“Those three individuals shouldn’t have press passes,” Mamdani said.
The controversy intensified after videos circulated online showing the supporters using profanity while discussing the case and making inflammatory remarks about the family of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was fatally shot in Midtown Manhattan. Mangione has pleaded not guilty in the killing.
“The fact that you can get dismissed as a juror is completely b—–t” one supporter said in a cellphone video recorded outside court.
One even suggested the kids of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson kids are better off that he is dead.
Mangione’s court appearances have consistently drawn large crowds of supporters both inside and outside the courthouse. Shortly after his arrest, many supporters sat in the public seating section during proceedings. In recent months, however, some have reportedly been seated alongside credentialed media members.
The city’s press credentialing process changed during former Mayor Eric Adams’ administration, when New York City created an independent office responsible for reviewing and granting press passes. Previously, the NYPD handled the process directly.
Mamdani said the city is now reviewing the system as media consumption and reporting continue to evolve.
“What we should have is a process that people can trust,” Mamdani said. “The nature of news — how it is reported, how it is consumed — has changed. The city has to keep up with that. We have to ensure that if a New Yorker is getting their news in this manner, we also treat that legitimately.”
“However, what we’re talking with regards to the three press passes that were reported on yesterday, that is not within that debate,” he continued. “What we need to do is put forward a process that is one where people can look at it and say, ‘This is actually acknowledging the different ways in which to report. That’s what we are reviewing right now, is how to put that together.”
The supporters involved are not the only backers of high-profile defendants who have held city-issued press credentials. The trend was seen over the course of the Sean “Diddy” Combs trial in 2025, when many of his supporters got press credentials in order to sit in with the media, too.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC New York. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC New York journalist edited the article for publication.
