Left: Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks as Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche listens during a news conference about Kilmar Abrego Garcia at the Justice Department, Friday June 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson). Right: Luigi Mangione is escorted into Manhattan state court in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025 (AP Photo/Seth Wenig).
A federal judge has firmly cautioned the DOJ and its leading officials that public comments by their employees endorsing capital punishment could jeopardize Luigi Mangione’s right to a fair trial. The judge warned that further occurrences might lead to sanctions or contempt proceedings.
The brief order from U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett addressed concerns from Mangione’s defense team. Mangione is currently facing both a New York state case and a federal death penalty case for the alleged murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, shot from behind on Dec. 4, 2024.
Judge Garnett, appointed by Joe Biden, found merit in defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo’s complaint that DOJ employees were making inappropriate public comments on Mangione’s case, violating a local rule and a court order. These comments could potentially hinder a fair trial.
Referencing Local Criminal Rule 23.1 of the Southern District of New York, the judge stressed that it’s the responsibility of legal professionals and their staff to refrain from making public statements that might interfere with justice or prejudice a fair trial.
The judge recognized the defense’s issues with a deleted post on X by Chad Gilmartin III, retweeted by Brian Nieves. Gilmartin was noted as the “Deputy Director of the Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs,” working under U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, while Nieves serves as the “Chief of Staff and Associate Deputy Attorney General” for Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Chad Gilmartin post on X and Brian Nieves retweet referenced in Luigi Mangione defense’s letter (court documents).
Gilmartin’s initial post, court exhibits show, noted Bondi was pursuing the death penalty against Mangione and that President Donald Trump was “absolutely right” when stating on Fox News that Mangione “looked like a pure assassin”:
.@POTUS on the deranged fans of Luigi Mangione: “He shot someone in the back as clear as you’re looking at me… He shot him right in the middle of the back — instantly dead… this is a sickness. This really has to be studied and investigated.” pic.twitter.com/lbsEsgkrbQ
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 18, 2025
Mangione’s defense argued that the DOJ employees’ social media activity came just days before the White House ramped up a campaign to “baselessly link[]” Mangione to “unrelated violent events, and left wing extremist groups, despite there being no connection or affiliation.”
Taken together, the government has “indelibly prejudiced” Mangione and focused on its energies on a “greater political narrative that has no place in any criminal case, especially one where the death penalty is at stake,” the defense said.
The judge has now responded by ordering the Trump administration to respond in a “sworn declaration” by Oct. 3 to the defense’s letter on the Gilmartin and Nieves posts to explain “how these violations occurred” and “what steps are being taken to ensure that no future violations occur.”
“The statements referenced in the September 23 Letter by two high-ranking staff members of the Department of Justice, including within the Office of Attorney General,” Garnett said, “appear to be in direct violation of this Rule and the Court’s April 25 Order.”
In addition, the judge “directed” the government to tell Blanche that any more violations of the kind “may result in sanctions” — whether “personal financial penalties, contempt of court findings, or relief specific to the prosecution of this matter” — and to provide proof the “message has been conveyed” to the deputy AG.
