It's too risky for Luigi Mangione to have a laptop in jail, even without internet: DA

• Luigi Mangione is in a NY jail awaiting trial in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
• On Wednesday, state prosecutors fought his request for a laptop loaded with video and photo evidence.
• They said access to a laptop, even one without internet access, could put witnesses at risk.

Luigi Mangione wants a laptop — and while federal prosecutors do not object, state prosecutors say that even a device with no internet access could put witnesses at risk of harm by "those who sympathize with him."

"There is a concern that should defendant have unfettered access to video surveillance, he may disseminate images of civilians captured on said video surveillance," prosecutors wrote Wednesday in asking Mangione's state-court judge to deny his request for a laptop — at least until an evidence protection order is agreed to.

"The acts of those who sympathize with defendant show that nobody associated with the case is off limits to acts intended to intimidate and coerce."

Mangione, 26, is being held in a federal jail in Brooklyn. He is awaiting trial on parallel state and federal indictments in the ambush shooting murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Prosecutors cited an incident from Mangione's February 21, 2025, state court appearance as proof that the defendant cannot be trusted.

Before the appearance, court officials confiscated two letters that some unknown person or people had tried to smuggle in to Mangione by hiding them in a new pair of argyle socks for him to wear in court, lead state prosecutor Joel Seidemann wrote the judge in Wednesday's filing.

A laptop is also unnecessary, as Mangione "has ample access to desktop computers where he is housed to review discovery, conduct legal research, send emails, and draft motions," Seidemann wrote.

Mangione's lawyers are awaiting the delivery by New York prosecutors of a massive batch of video and photo evidence — including thousands of hours of surveillance and police body-worn camera footage — that the lawyers say can only be viewed on a computer.

A "specially formulated" laptop — modified to federal prison security standards — would allow Mangione to view some 800 GB of evidence without his lawyers needing to be present, his lawyers argued this week.

The device would have no connection to the internet, printers, wireless networks, games, or entertainment programs, and would solely contain evidence, they argued — in trial parlance, it would contain "discovery" only.

Without such a laptop, there are not enough visiting hours to allow Mangione to view the video and photo evidence against him, his lawyers argue.

The legal team would also need to print out more than 15,000 pages of text-based evidence for Mangione — which he would then need to keep in his cell, his lawyers argue.

In a filing from Friday, lead attorneys Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Marc Agnifilo, and Jacob Kaplan offered prosecutors from the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg office a compromise.

"Counsel proposes that the laptop be loaded only with non-sensitive and non-civilian-related discovery," they offered.

That evidence would include, "Grand Jury minutes and exhibits relating to non-civilian witnesses, body-worn camera footage, surveillance videos, DNA and fingerprint reports and evidence, and non-sensitive police paperwork," the defense lawyers wrote.

Prosecutors on Wednesday said that "even a skimming of the news media" shows how civilians were targeted after being identified as helping in Mangione's arrest after a five-day manhunt.

"Defendant's conduct has directly led to several instances of harassment, backlash, and death threats against both individuals who have cooperated with the investigation as well as prospective witnesses, including employees of the Altoona McDonald's where defendant was arrested," Seidemann wrote.

The McDonald's was inundated with one-star reviews after its worker called police with the tip that the UnitedHealthcare CEO murder suspect may be inside the restaurant.

Also harassed were "members of the Altoona Police Department who simply did their duty, and healthcare professionals both associated with UnitedHealthcare and others in the industry generally," the prosecutor wrote.