Luigi Mangione has handcuffs removed in court for first time as he attends crucial hearing about CEO murder: Live updates

Luigi Mangione arrived in court, clean-shaven, wearing a grey suit and a red-and-blue-checked shirt.

The accused killer, 27, was hauled before a judge on Monday to see his attorneys attempt to bar damning evidence against him from being heard in his upcoming trial.

Attorneys for the Ivy League graduate are claiming that a jury should not hear anything about his journal writings that declared the murder of the former UnitedHealthcare CEO was ‘justified.’

Luigi Mangione sat at the defense table with his team of lawyers for Monday’s hearing.

Footage played during Monday’s hearing showed Luigi Mangione spent nearly 25 minutes eating at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, before he was arrested.

The video showed the 27-year-old getting his food, then sitting down alone in the corner of a table at the restaurant.

He wiped down the table and ate before he was approached by police wearing a dark jacket and a brown beanie.

State terrorism charges against Luigi Mangione were dropped in September after a judge said that the evidence was ‘legally insufficient.’

He still faces one count of murder in the second degree, which is now his most serious charge in the December 2024 killing of healthcare executive Brian Thompson.

Mangione is also accused of seven counts of various weapon charges and one count of possession of a forged instrument in the second degree.

He is also facing four federal charges including stalking and murder.

The state charges carry the possibility of life in prison, while federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Mangione has pleaded not guilty on all charges.

Several Luigi Mangione supporters entered the courtroom for Monday’s hearing.

In a newly released letter allegedly sent to a fan by Mangione, he said he’d given Taylor Swift and Charli XCX a listen in the prison yard – until a fellow inmate stepped in.

The 27-year-old explained in the alleged letter that he recently downloaded some of their songs to his prison tablet at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center.

The Ivy league graduate admitted he’d never really listened to the singers before, but decided to try them after a fake list of his ‘favorite artists’ went viral online.

However, he then switched to Lil Durk on a fellow inmate’s insistence.

Luigi Mangione, whose mugshot was deemed one of the ‘hottest’ of all time, never once had a girlfriend despite being flirtatious and close to several women, it has emerged.

Mangione, 27, was ‘alienated’ and often talked of loneliness, author and former journalist John H Richardson revealed in his new book Luigi: The Making and The Meaning.

Richardson spoke with Mangione’s friends and acquaintances, all of whom painted a picture of a nice, good looking guy who was looking for intimacy yet puzzlingly lived a perpetually single life.

However, a journal entry penned in jail contained a tantalizing hint in at a possible change in his relationship status, according to the book.

Luigi Mangione rested his head on his hand and had no apparent reaction as prosecutors played security footage outside the Hilton Midtown Manhattan hotel, where Brian Thompson was murdered.

Luigi Mangione appeared to be nervous as prosecutors questioned NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Sergeant Chris McLaughlin.

The accused killer watched attentively, jotting down notes and placing his fingers on his mouth at one point as McLaughlin described images shared to the public from the day of the assassination.

Luigi Mangione fans gathered at a Manhattan courthouse to support the accused UnitedHealthcare CEO killer.

‘We are living in a time of rampant human-rights violations. We’re seeing it left and right. If they can violate the rights of an attractive white male, what hope do the rest of us have?’ supporter Jonathan Garthrelle told the New York Post.

Fan Jasmin Flores added, ‘It’s important for me to be here because he’s innocent.’

One supporter, Alexa Modugno, told the outlet she was just two spots away from entering the courtroom.

‘To get into court, they gave out tickets to people in line. It cut off at 24. I was 26. I’m just here to support Luigi and fight against stigma against mental-health issues,’ she said.

Luigi Mangione has reportedly been hailed as an ‘ambassador’ at the federal prison where he is awaiting trial on both federal and state charges for the assassination of former UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Mangione, 27, has been a ‘model prisoner’ at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn – the same jail where Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was locked up ahead of his federal sex trafficking trial, New York-based defense attorney Arthur Aidala told PEOPLE.

He said the alleged assassin has made a point of helping out other inmates when they first arrive at the facility.

‘He actually has been extremely nice to brand new people who go in there,’ said Aidala, who is not representing Mangione, but is the lawyer for other prisoners at the jail.

Newly-released images show alleged assassin Luigi Mangione’s final moments of freedom before he was taken into custody.

The now 27-year-old could be seen in the photos wearing a dark jacket and a brown beanie while sitting alone in the corner of a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania on December 9, 2024.

The images – which appear to be still frames from body camera footage- then shows a group of police officers confronting Mangione, an Ivy League graduate, prompting him to pull down his mask.