Luigi Mangione Trial

Luigi Mangione turned 28 Wednesday inside a federal lockup as he awaits 2 murder trials ... but he has a lot to celebrate ... at least when it comes to his legal defense fund!

The alleged killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson received a $28,038 donation today from a man named Carl ... putting Luigi at a whopping $1.5 million in overall contributions to his fund.

Carl mentioned in his post about the donation that he also directed funds to "victims in comparable situations." He added it's unfortunate that private support is needed in Luigi's case due to the pile of charges against him. 

Jack Black is not getting the band back together ... telling us Tenacious D still isn't reuniting for a new project despite reports to the contrary.

We caught up with the voice of Bowser himself in New York City Thursday afternoon ... and we asked him when we can expect to see TD pumping out new projects.

JB says he and Kyle Gass have no plans to work on anything new ... so, put your 'Picks of Destiny' down, fans -- there's nothing to strum along to.

Charlie Day couldn't resist jumping on the Luigi Mangione bandwagon in a recent interview ... laughing out loud while ranking the accused murderer among his favorite Luigis.

The actor took a few questions alongside his 'Super Mario Galaxy Movie' costars Anya Taylor-Joy and Keegan-Michael Key in Tokyo for the comedy podcast "Tintoria" ... and he was asked specifically who his favorite Luigi is "in recent American history?"

The trio of celebs immediately break into grins ... because it's clear what the hosts are fishing for here, and Day, who play's Mario's brother, Luigi, doesn't disappoint.

He says he's top of the Luigi game, but Mangione comes in second.

Five Guys CEO Jerry Murrell would much rather give workers a big bonus than take a bullet.

He doled out $1.5M in bonuses to his employees after a birthday burger BOGO deal completely backfired ... and seemed to crack a Luigi Mangione joke in the process.

In a phone call with Fortune, he quipped ... "I didn’t want anybody shooting me in the back or anything."

When the promotion launched last month -- in celebration of Five Guys' 40th birthday -- stores were so mobbed, they ran out of food ... which stressed out crews and pissed off customers.

Murrell mused they "really screwed it up," saying ... "We had no idea that we were going to get that kind of response."

He joked he almost used the money to spoil his wife with "a new fur coat," adding ... "I spent it on [the bonus] instead. She still looks at me like I’m stupid."

But jokes aside, he said the decision to give back to his employees was "worth it," noting ... "They worked so hard. They were so overwhelmed."

Luigi Mangione piped up for the first time in court ... claiming his case is clearly one of "double jeopardy" since he's being charged at both the state and federal level -- though it appears he's mistaken.

The alleged murderer appeared in court Friday while his legal team and federal prosecutors argued over a whole host of issues ... including whether state or federal prosecutors should get the first crack at him.

After the judge adjourned the court, officers led Luigi away ... and, he said, "One plus one is two, common sense tells you this is double jeopardy."

Huge win for Luigi Mangione ... the trial judge just ruled the death penalty is officially off the table.

The feds wanted the judge to rule that the stalking charges they filed against Mangione were a "crime of violence" -- and proving a crime of violence is a prerequisite for opening the door to even charging Mangione federally with murder. The judge ruled stalking is NOT a crime of violence ... the upshot is that Mangione can't even be charged with murder in the federal case. All he can be charged with is stalking, which carries a maximum sentence of life without parole.

Mangione is still charged in state court with murder, although in New York, there is no death penalty.

Luigi Mangione has a ton of fans rooting for his release ... and at least one of them who allegedly tried to take matters into his own hands by busting him out!

Mark Anderson -- a 35-year-old Minnesota man -- was arrested at MDC Brooklyn in New York, the notorious prison that houses Mangione and other high-profile inmates such as former Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, late Wednesday night.

According to a criminal complaint -- cited by NBC News -- Anderson was arrested after prison workers asked for his credentials ... and he only handed over an MN driver's license.

Luigi Mangione's cousin is heading to Brooklyn -- not for visitation at the Metropolitan Detention Center ... but to play professional soccer.

The USL's Brooklyn FC announced the interesting signing on Wednesday ... saying 24-year-old Peter Mangione is joining the squad.

The team said it witnessed Mangione build his resume at Penn State, where he scored 31 goals and became a two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year.

He also played a key role with the MLS Next Pro's FC Cincinnati 2 last year.

Luigi Mangione says he now knows the real reason why Attorney General Pam Bondi is seeking the death penalty against him ... she allegedly has deep ties to the murder victim's health care company.

Mangione's defense attorneys filed court docs Friday night outlining their new claims against Bondi to get the death penalty tossed from the federal case. Federal prosecutors charged Mangione with stalking and murder through use of firearm in connection with the 2024 fatal shooting of UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson.

Bondi then issued a statement directing prosecutors to seek the death penalty. State prosecutors have also charged Mangione with murder and possession of a weapon in a separate case.

In the latest defense filing, Luigi's lawyers claim Bondi was a partner at the lobbying firm Ballard Partners before she became attorney general, and the company lists UnitedHealth Group (UHG) as a client.

As a result, Bondi derives and continues to receive personal and financial benefits from Ballard "in the form of a profit-sharing plan from Ballard's professional association with UHG," according to the court docs.

Luigi Mangione doesn't know his fate yet in court ... but he does know his camera angles.

The man charged with murder in the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson appeared camera-shy on the eighth day of pre-trial hearings Tuesday. He appeared to motion the courtroom photographer a little further back while being snapped.

Look at the pics ... at first he's visibly uncomfortable, shielding his face and stretching his arms out to suggest a little distance.

New police body camera footage shows the moment cops in Pennsylvania first interacted with Luigi Mangione inside the McDonald's where he was arrested.

The footage was released Tuesday -- exactly one year after his arrest -- and it shows two cops going inside the Altoona, PA McDonald's and questioning Luigi.

In the video, one of the officers first struts by Luigi to test how he reacts, but Luigi plays it cool, sitting at a table with his food.

Police ask Luigi his name and he lowers his face mask and identifies himself as "Mark Rosario," and he hands officers a New Jersey I.D.

Prosecutors in the Luigi Mangione murder trial just entered a bunch of evidence into court ... including photos of the gun they say Luigi used to whack UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

The photos are included in new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... they show a handgun, bullets and a magazine. Cops say they found the gun and the loaded magazine in Luigi's bag when he was arrested.

Police previously released photos of the gun last December around the time of Luigi's arrest ... but these are clearer photos from different angles ... in other words, it's the best look yet at the gun Luigi allegedly used to kill Thompson.

Luigi's court hearing this month have been pretty juicy ... prosecutors resurfaced video from the shooting and released the 911 call that led to Luigi's arrest at a Pennsylvania McDonald's ... plus, we finally saw the body cam footage from the arrest.

Court is back in session ... and Luigi just pulled the ultimate comeback ... showing up so polished and glowing, you’d never believe this was the same guy who looked rough AF a few days ago.

There was zero hint of Monday blues for Luigi on Day 4 in NYC ... he rolled in looking ridiculously sharp, fully suited and booted, and serving smolder so hard he could've been a male model in a different life.

Whatever bug he had, it’s clearly gone -- Luigi’s back on his feet and looking alarmingly refreshed for a guy fighting both state and federal first-degree murder charges

Luigi Mangione's critical hearing in his state murder case was put on ice Friday, because the defendant's under the weather.

Judge Gregory Carro made the announcement just as court was set to begin Friday ... saying Mangione had fallen ill. The judge said the hearing will resume Monday.

We got LM's defense heading out of the courthouse -- dressed their best to impress the judge -- but they were mum as to what was ailing Luigi.

For the first time, police body cam footage of Luigi Mangione's arrest was shown at length during Tuesday's hearing in NYC, revealing Luigi pretended to be homeless when police first questioned him.

As you know ... Luigi was approached by police December 9, 2024 at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, five days after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down outside a Manhattan hotel.

In the video, one of the 2 officers first struts by Luigi to test how he reacts, but Luigi plays it cool, sitting at a table and attending to his laptop computer.

Luigi Mangione's eyebrows were a dead giveaway he was the man wanted for gunning down a health care executive in cold blood ... at least according to folks who were eating at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania.

In a pretrial hearing Monday in New York, state prosecutors played the 911 call that led to Luigi's arrest at a Mickey D's in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

In the audio, the caller states there's a man in the McDonald's who other customers are suspicious of who "looks like the CEO shooter from New York."