Luigi Mangione Doesn’t Get His Way And One Growing Problem Is Starting To Follow Him

A U.S. District Court judge on Wednesday pushed back Luigi Mangione’s federal trial one month despite the prosecution expressing concerns that any delay could add fuel to Mangione’s cult following.

Judge Margaret Garnett said the trial’s start date will move from the beginning of September to October due to “paramount issues” related to Mangione’s ability to participate in each part of the trial, The New York Times reported. Mangione is also facing a state trial in New York over the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and the suspect’s defense team raised concerns that the beginning of the federal trial would overlap with the state trial, which is set to begin in June.

Mangione’s lawyers asked Garnett to move the federal trial’s start date to January 2027, but they’ll now have to accept the one-month delay. Mangione threw a tantrum in state court in February after the judge set his trial date for June.

The prosecution likely isn’t too pleased with Garnett’s decision either. Assistant U.S. attorney Dominic Gentile argued before the judge that it was necessary for the federal trial to “proceed as the court has already scheduled” because of the concerning wave of support for Mangione. Gentile told the judge that just outside of the courtroom there was a crowd of demonstrators “who follow this defendant and believe what he did was right.”

Mangione has been lifted up as a type of vigilante hero by radical leftists who are incensed by the health insurance industry. Some of Mangione’s supporters, often donning hats and costumes of the Super Mario Nintendo character Luigi, have gathered outside of the courthouse in New York for each of his court appearances.

Supporters of Luigi Mangione gather outside of Manhattan Federal Court on January 09, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Thompson, a 50-year-old father and husband, was in New York City for UnitedHealthcare’s annual investor conference when he was gunned down from behind on December 4, 2024. After arresting Mangione, authorities found a diary on him that included passages raging against the health insurance industry and also contained a line about taking out “the CEO at the annual parasitic bean counter convention.”

Garnett said the state trial limits the options for the federal court, stating, “Whether we like it or not, we are at the will of the state case,” NBC News reported.

“It’s the nature of dual prosecutions,” she added.

Earlier this year, Garnett threw out the federal murder charge that made Mangione eligible for the death penalty. Attorney General Pam Bondi had directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty. Mangione now only faces two stalking charges in the federal case. He faces a charge of second-degree murder in the state case.

Mangione has pleaded not guilty to all charges.