CNN has obtained newly unsealed police body camera footage showing the arrest of Luigi Mangione inside a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, days after he fatally shot United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The hours of footage capture officers questioning Mangione at the fast-food restaurant on the morning of Dec. 9, 2024, before he is handcuffed, searched and transported to the police station. The videos show police conducting more thorough searches of Mangione and his belongings at the station, including the moment an officer finds a gun – now known to be the murder weapon – inside his backpack. This is the first time the videos have been seen outside the courtroom. Some of the footage was played during a dayslong suppression hearing last December, when the defence argued evidence recovered during the arrest should be suppressed because Mangione’s backpack was improperly searched. New York State Judge Gregory Carro ultimately ruled most of the evidence would be allowed at trial and placed the videos under seal. The judge authorized their release after CNN petitioned for their unsealing following Mangione’s guilty plea to federal charges in August, in which he admitted to fatally shooting Thompson, 50, on a Manhattan sidewalk. The unsealed videos, taken from body cameras worn by of eight Altoona police officers, show different angles of how the day unfolded as Mangione was approached and questioned by law enforcement, who quickly came to believe he was the suspect tied to the CEO’s killing. The footage shows Mangione first provided police with a fake ID bearing the name “Mark Rosario” – the same name prosecutors say the shooting suspect used to check into a New York City hostel prior to Thompson’s killing – before later telling law enforcement his real name. The officers handcuffed Mangione in the fast-food restaurant and searched his pockets and his belongings, including his black backpack, in which they found a gun magazine wrapped in underwear, the videos show. Mangione was then transported to the police station, where the videos show both he and his bag were further searched. The footage captures the moments police recovered key evidence from the backpack, including a firearm and a notebook with handwritten entries that prosecutors have described as his “manifesto.” Mangione’s defence attorneys have asked Judge Carro to dismiss the state murder case against him following his guilty plea in federal court late this summer, arguing he would be unlawfully prosecuted under double jeopardy grounds if it proceeds. The judge has yet to rule on the motion; the parties are due back in state court in December. By Kara Scannell, Nicki Brown, CNN
