A federal judge in Luigi Mangione’s case told U.S. Justice Department officials that they likely broke court rules by publicly discussing the case, which could result in sanctions.
Judge Margaret Garnett said in an order on Wednesday, September 24, that at least two DOJ officials likely went against court rules governing the conduct of prosecutors when they reposted comments President Donald Trump made about Mangione, 27, in recent days, according to CNN. Garnett went on to note that the actions “appear to be in direct violation” of court rules.
Garnett’s order came one day after Mangione’s attorneys said that statements made by several Trump administration officials have jeopardized their chances of having a fair trial, per People. In the filing submitted on Tuesday, September 24, Mangione’s attorneys included screenshots of DOJ officials allegedly reposting comments Trump, 79, made about their client.
“The Government has indelibly prejudiced Mr. Mangione by baselessly linking him to unrelated violent events, and left-wing extremist groups, despite there being no connection or affiliation,” his lawyers wrote to the judge, per CNN.
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The attorneys noted that Trump said Mangione had “shot someone in the back as clear as you’re looking at me” during his September 18 appearance on Fox News. “He shot him right in the middle of the back, instantly dead,” Trump said at the time.
Magione’s attorneys also noted in the filing that a DOJ spokesperson reposted a video of Trump’s remarks via X on September 19, per People. “@POTUS is absolutely right,” spokesperson Chad Gilmartin said in the since-deleted post. The screenshots in the filing also showed that the post was reshared by Brian Nieves, an associate deputy attorney general.
In her order, Garnett wrote that two leading-ranking DOJ officials who were cited in the letter “appear to be in direct violation” of court rules, as well as an earlier court order that prohibited such statements.
The judge asked the DOJ to explain how the violations occurred by October 3, and she also asked them to explain their steps to ensure it won’t happen again, according to People.
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“Future violations may result in sanctions, which could include personal financial penalties, contempt of court findings, or relief specific to the prosecution of this matter,” the judge added.
Mangione has been accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024. He has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges he’s facing.
On September 16, a New York judge dismissed terrorism charges Mangione was originally facing. Additionally, prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
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