{"id":23192,"date":"2026-08-11T17:59:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T17:59:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=23192"},"modified":"2026-08-11T17:59:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T17:59:12","slug":"mangione-prosecutors-seek-to-limit-court-access-amid-witness-intimidation-fears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=23192","title":{"rendered":"Mangione prosecutors seek to limit court access amid witness intimidation fears"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Luigi Mangione back in court as defense, prosecution clash over media access<\/h4>\n

High-profile trial coverage demands from Luigi Mangione are sparking intense pushback from prosecutors. Criminal defense attorney Josh Ritter warns that the UnitedHealthcare CEO murder suspect is seeking a public platform to send a message. Ritter breaks down the prosecution’s concerns regarding potential witness intimidation and jury nullification ahead of courtroom proceedings in New York.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

NEW YORK \u2014 The judge overseeing the trial of accused assassin Luigi Mangione said jurors will remain anonymous Tuesday after New York City prosecutors warned that the defendant’s supporters may intimidate witnesses and jurors during next month’s murder trial over the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.<\/p>\n

“The media attention surrounding this case \u2014 and the efforts of some of defendant\u2019s supporters both to intimidate witnesses and to interfere with the functioning of the jury \u2014 will place extraordinary pressure on witnesses and potential jurors alike,” Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann wrote in a letter to Judge Gregory Carro Monday evening.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors asked the judge in a recent court filing to limit courtroom access and strictly enforce decorum rules at the high-profile trial, with jury selection scheduled to begin on Sept. 8.<\/p>\n

Carro, however, said the court was considering expanding media access not shrinking it.<\/p>\n

MANGIONE LAWYERS SAY MEDIA LIMITS AT MURDER TRIAL ARE UNCONSTITUTIONAL, FEAR COURT WILL ‘HAND-PICK’ PRESS<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Luigi Mangione attends a pre-trial appearance at Manhattan Criminal Court, in New York City, U.S., August 11, 2026. REUTERS\/David Dee Delgado<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Mangione made a brief appearance in court Tuesday for a conference ahead of his trial.<\/p>\n

“There has never been a decision by this court to exclude or limit,” Carro said. “There have been discussions on expanding.”<\/p>\n

And he said concerns from the defense that the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office was involved in picking which journalists could attend were without merit.<\/p>\n

“I don\u2019t want to hear anymore about this,” \u00a0he told the sides.<\/p>\n

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Luigi Mangione talks to one of his lawyers in Manhattan Supreme Court Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026 in Manhattan, New York. Mangione\u2019s trial for the 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.<\/span> (Barry Williams\/New York Daily News via Pool)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Prosecutors had also claimed that court officers would face difficulty enforcing courthouse rules in an overflow room if one were made available to accommodate more reporters than can fit in the main courtroom.<\/p>\n

“We are particularly concerned about the possibility that a spectator in an overflow courtroom will clandestinely record the proceedings and share any such recordings with others,” prosecutors wrote. “That concern will only be heightened if the overflow room includes a video feed as well as an audio feed.”<\/p>\n

Seidemann recommended that if the judge does approve an overflow room, “it include only an audio feed so as to minimize the potential for witness intimidation and harassment.”<\/p>\n

There was no discussion of cameras in the courtroom, but Carro warned that anyone who takes a phone out in the courtroom or overflow room would be removed.<\/p>\n

Read the prosecution letter:<\/h2>\n

“The conventional wisdom is that the defense usually doesn’t want high-profile cases broadcast. It can put implicit pressure on jurors to return a\u00a0guilty verdict,” Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, told Fox News Digital last week.<\/p>\n

But Mangione’s defense team is likely aware that the defendant has a sizable number of supporters and is aiming to leverage that, he said.<\/p>\n

“There’s upwards of 10 to 20 percent of the people who have been surveyed who believe that even if he did it, it was justified,” Rahmani said. “And I think the defense knows this, and they know that more attention creates the possibility of jury nullification, or maybe even an acquittal.”<\/p>\n

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This 2017 file photo of Brian Thompson was released via Businesswire when he was named chief executive officer of UnitedHealthcare Unit in 2017.<\/span> (Businesswire)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X<\/strong><\/p>\n

SIGN UP TO GET THE LATEST TRUE CRIME NEWS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two from Minnesota, was walking to a business conference when surveillance video shows a man firing multiple bullets into his back on Dec. 4, 2024 outside a Manhattan hotel.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Police arrested Mangione days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. \u00a0<\/p>\n

LUIGI MANGIONE WINS BID TO DITCH JAIL CLOTHES FOR POLISHED LOOK AT UPCOMING HEARING IN CEO SLAYING CASE<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Luigi Mangione is escorted from an NYPD helicopter in New York City, New York, Thursday, December, 19, 2024. Mangione is the prime suspect in the murder of United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson.<\/span> (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

GOT A TIP?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mangione’s legal team has requested a publicly televised trial, something that New York law doesn’t typically allow.<\/p>\n

LISTEN TO THE NEW ‘CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO’ PODCAST<\/strong><\/p>\n

In June, Mangione’s defense team announced plans to assert a psychiatric defense in the state case \u2014 then withdrew it a day later.<\/p>\n

Mangione has pleaded not guilty to eight state charges, including second-degree murder, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison under New York law.<\/p>\n

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Luigi Mangione talks to one of his lawyers in Manhattan Supreme Court Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026 in Manhattan, New York. Mangione\u2019s trial for the 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.<\/span> (Barry Williams\/New York Daily News via Pool)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

LUIGI MANGIONE’S FEDERAL TRIAL PUSHED TO NEXT YEAR IN ASSASSINATION OF UNITEDHEALTHCARE CEO<\/strong><\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/p>\n

He is expected to go to trial in a parallel federal case early next year.<\/p>\n

Fox News’ Adam Sabes contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n

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