Fake name, unrecorded minutes and a backpack search. What we’ve learned at Luigi Mangione’s pre-trial hearing
Bodycam footage shows the moment police confront Luigi Mangione at a McDonald’s last year
For two weeks now, a rotating cast of police officers have arrived to a Manhattan courtroom to lay out exactly what happened the day Luigi Mangione was arrested and accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Two questions are at the heart of this lengthy pre-trial suppression hearing: Was the search of Mangione’s backpack in Altoona, Pennsylvania, last year legal? And did officers properly read him his Miranda rights?
If the judge rules for the defense, prosecutors may not be allowed to show the jury key pieces of evidence in the case, including the 3D-printed firearm, loaded magazine, silencer and handwritten journal found in Mangione’s backpack, as well as some statements he made.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to nine charges, including second-degree murder, in a case that has made clear the depth of frustration and anger at the American health care system. A trial date has not yet been set.
Luigi Mangione was arrested one year ago. Inside how it went down
It’ll be an uphill battle for Mangione’s defense to get the evidence suppressed. Defendants tend to lose suppression hearings the vast majority of the time, said CNN legal analyst and defense attorney Joey Jackson.
Even so, getting so many officers and eyewitnesses to testify under oath can help the defense down the road. Through the hearing, the defense now knows what the officers saw and did and can probe for any inconsistencies.
“Here, where you’ve had over a dozen witnesses testify and counting, you’ve got a lot of good intel if you’re the defense in terms of what’s coming for you,” Jackson said.
In other words, the defense can lose this battle but still win the war, explained Jeremy Saland, a defense attorney and former Manhattan prosecutor.
“You can set the stage for a lack of credibility, even if you ultimately lose the suppression,” he said.
With the pre-trial hearing continuing into next week, CNN took a closer look at the testimony and evidence revealed so far.
Here are five key things we learned in this hearing that seem likely to play a role in Mangione’s upcoming murder trial, including his use of a fake name and ID, the contents of his backpack and a crucial 11-minute period without body-cam video.
Mangione gave fake name and ID, video shows
Luigi Mangione appears with his attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo for an evidence hearing in Manhattan Criminal Court on December 12, 2025. Christian Monterrosa/Pool/Getty Images
One of the key pieces of evidence revealed in this hearing is body-camera video of officers confronting Mangione at a McDonald’s in Altoona, days after Thompson’s fatal shooting set off a national manhunt.
An officer asked him to pull down his face mask and asked for his name. Mangione said it was “Mark Rosario” and gave the officer a New Jersey ID card bearing the same name, the video shows.
The officers soon learned the name and ID were false and confronted him, and Mangione admitted his real name. One of the officers asked Mangione why he lied about his name, and Mangione responded, “I clearly shouldn’t have.”
While a small detail in the grand scheme of things, Mangione’s use of a false name and ID is likely to help the prosecution’s case.
“It goes to, arguably, his consciousness of guilt,” Saland said. “That he’s trying to hide who he really is because he committed this crime.”
In addition, the same ID was used by the shooting suspect to check into a hostel in New York, according to prosecutors.
Police debated backpack search
A still from bodycam footage of police searching Luigi Mangione’s backpack. Supreme Court of the State of New York
Mangione’s use of a fake name and ID may have helped prosecutors in another way.
On the stand, multiple officers said Mangione’s decision to give a fake name and ID constituted a crime. That allowed them to arrest him on charges related to the fake ID and search his belongings, including his backpack, due to a policy known as “search incident to arrest,” they said.
The Altoona Police Department policy says officers can search “the clothing worn by the person and any bags or packages they may be in possession of at the time and place of arrest.” The policy also says multiple searches of the person are permitted as custody is passed from officer to officer or facility to facility.
“We are arresting him for a crime he committed,” Officer Stephen Fox testified. “We can search his bag ‘incident to arrest’ all day on that. We do not need to worry about the New York case at that time. He’s arrested for a crime he committed in our presence.”
Police did an initial search of the backpack at the McDonald’s and then later brought it to the police station, where they found the gun and other items, according to testimony.
Evidence photos from Luigi Mangione’s arrest
The defense has argued the backpack search was illegal and noted that investigators did not get a search warrant until later that night. The warrant was for the transfer of the property to the NYPD, officers testified.
To the defense’s point, the officers on scene debated among themselves whether they should get a warrant after they searched his backpack at the McDonald’s but before it was brought to the station, the body-camera footage shows.
Cpl. Garrett Trent said, “At this point we probably need a search warrant” to go into the backpack, according to the footage. Another officer, Cpl. Bryan Miller, agreed. “I would still play it safe because of the severity of it and get a search warrant,” Miller said.
However, other officers pushed back, saying that the backpack search was legal and appropriate. Police ultimately searched the backpack further at the station.
“I’m not gonna sit there and argue with Cpl. Trent in a McDonald’s over an opinionated suggestion he made,” Sgt. Jon Burns, who is Trent’s superior, testified.
Officers asked Mangione questions before Miranda rights
The defense has argued that Mangione was not properly read his Miranda rights, the all-important advisement of a defendant’s rights to silence and to an attorney.
Body-camera footage shows that an officer read Mangione his Miranda rights about 20 minutes after they first started asking questions.
In general, officers must read a defendant their Miranda rights before an in-custody interrogation, Saland explained to CNN. The lines of questioning at this hearing have therefore focused on what constitutes “in custody” and what constitutes an “interrogation.”
The defense has argued his comments in the McDonald’s on December 9 through his extradition to New York 10 days later should be set aside. Prosecutors have said the officers properly read him his rights at the appropriate time.
The decision is relevant not just to Mangione’s comments at the McDonald’s about the false name, but also to comments he allegedly made to two law enforcement officers while behind bars, at his court hearing and in a patrol car.
Corrections officer Matthew Henry testified that Mangione told him he had a backpack with a 3D-printed gun. Another corrections officer, Tomas Rivers, testified that he and Mangione discussed the differences in private and nationalized health care.
However, both said they did not tell anyone about these conversations until they were questioned by prosecutors earlier this year.
These statements could end up being used in court to show Mangione’s focus on health care and his alleged possession of the firearm. Still, the defense will now have a preview of what is coming and how to approach a potential cross-examination.
11 minutes not recorded
A key point of contention concerned an 11-minute period when a police officer turned her body camera off and drove Mangione’s belongings from the McDonald’s to the Altoona police station.
Luigi Mangione was found at this McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 10, 2024. Matthew Hatcher/Reuters
Officers Christy Wasser and Fox had done a cursory search of Mangione’s backpack at the McDonald’s and found a loaded magazine, they testified. They then put his things back in his backpack and in a brown McDonald’s bag and separately drove back to the police station, they said.
Fox took the bag and Wasser took the backpack, they testified. However, Fox was diverted elsewhere, so Wasser met up with him on the drive and retrieved the bag, she testified.
Wasser testified that she turned off her body-worn camera during that short drive. She also kept her gloves on during the drive.
When she turned the body camera on again, she brought the bags into the precinct. Upon opening the backpack, she quickly found the firearm that prosecutors say matches the one used in the shooting.
The defense repeatedly questioned Wasser about what happened during that 11-minute period, noting that other officers got to the precinct in 9 minutes.
“Isn’t it true that it took you longer to get there because when you stopped with Officer Fox to switch bags, you searched the bag?” defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo asked.
“It is not accurate,” Wasser said.
Wasser testified under re-direct that her department’s policy is to turn on body-worn cameras any time they’re speaking with the public. She said the first time she found the gun and the silencer was in the intake center at the police station.
Saland told CNN that this 11-minute period without video could provide an opening for the defense to raise questions.
“Even if (officers) were completely by the book other than turning off the body cameras, whether they should or should not have, it’s gonna leave a sense of questioning in the mind of a juror potentially,” he told CNN. “That’s a great tool for the defense.”
Lots of witnesses and lengthy hearing
Pre-trial suppression hearings are common in criminal cases and generally take up a single morning, or maybe a full day. Two days is unusually long.
By contrast, Mangione’s suppression hearing is now pushing into its third week, and over a dozen people have testified so far.
What is jury nullification and what does it mean for Luigi Mangione’s defense?
“A multi-week suppression hearing is an outlier by a lot,” Joey Jackson said. “It’s not the way things take place at all.”
Saland said the length and number of officers testifying indicates how seriously the prosecution is taking this hearing.
“Most cases don’t necessitate so many different officers. It demonstrates that there is concern from the prosecution as to potentially some of the legality of what occurred,” he said. “They unquestionably … recognize the gravity of this case and need to make sure every ‘i’ is dotted and ‘t’ is crossed.”
Jackson agreed.
“Because this is such a high-profile case involving issues of great importance … I think that they’re just doing everything they can to make sure that things are done right.”
What We Do and Don’t Know So Far About the Minneapolis Shooter
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The Brief August 28, 2025
What we know about the Minneapolis shooter, anti-Trump protests planned across U.S. for Labor Day, and more
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Robin Westman, 23, was identified by police as the suspect behind the shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis on Wednesday that left two children dead and 18 others injured.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said Westman had opened fire at the Annunciation Catholic School from the outside, shooting through the windows of the affiliated church. The victims were attending a morning Mass when Westman began firing.
Westman was later found dead with a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound behind the church.
O’Hara told CNN on Thursday that authorities are parsing through “hundreds of pieces of evidence.” Investigators are still searching for a motive and trying to figure out if there was a “triggering event” for the shooting, he said, but have so far “not been able to narrow it down to one specific motivation.”
While an investigation is underway, preliminary details paint Westman as someone with an inclination towards violence, largely through videos linked to them which were scheduled for publishing on YouTube. Officials have taken the videos down and are reviewing them to determine possible motives for the shooting.
Authorities are also combing through “hundreds of pages of writing” in which they say Westman displayed an obsession with killing children and expressed hatred toward a variety of groups.
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FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X that the agency is investigating the shooting as “an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics.”
Here’s what we know so far about Westman.
Once a student of the school
O’Hara said during a Thursday press conference that authorities have not yet identified a “specific grievance” Westman had with the church, bud he did have ties to both it and the school.
According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, Westman was one of three children of Mary Grace and James Allen Westman, who divorced in 2013 after 25 years of marriage. A since-deleted Facebook post from August 2021 said Mary Grace was retiring as a parish secretary of the church, with the post thanking her for her “wonderful hospitality, friendship and compassion.”
Westman attended the Annunciation Catholic School and graduated from eighth grade in 2017. The Star Tribune and CNN reported that in the school’s 2017 yearbook, Westman quoted French EDM band Daft Punk: “Work it. Make it. Do it. Makes us. Harder. Better. Faster. Stronger.”
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The yearbook also indicated that Westman intended to attend Powell Leadership Academy in Minneapolis, one of many schools operated by Minnesota Transitions Charter School. An official from Minnesota Transitions Charter School confirmed to the Star Tribune that Westman attended one of its schools briefly before transferring to the all-boys school, Saint Thomas Academy, in Twin Cities suburb Mendota Heights.
Related to a former lawmaker in another state
Former Kentucky state representative Bob Heleringer told the Associated Press that he is Westman’s uncle, though he claimed he “barely knew” Westman.
“They [Westman’s family] never lived in Louisville. They lived in Minnesota,“ Heleringer said in a phone interview with the AP. “He was my nephew, and I wish he had shot me instead of innocent schoolchildren.”
Had no prior criminal history
Minneapolis Police Chief O’Hara said Westman had no prior criminal history.
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A search of Westman’s birth name in state court records showed some traffic citations in September 2021.
Worked at a cannabis dispensary
The Star Tribune also reported that Westman was an employee at Rise medical cannabis dispensaries. Westman’s co-worker, speaking to the Star Tribune, said the suspect worked as a personal care specialist interacting with patients in Minnesota’s medical cannabis program. Westman reportedly stopped working at an Eagan dispensary on Aug. 16 and had been previously disciplined for tardiness and absenteeism.
A spokesperson for Green Thumb Industries, the parent company, confirmed Westman’s employment for a few months earlier this year, though the suspect left the firm before the shooting. The firm told the Star Tribune it will cooperate with the investigation.
Appeared to have meticulously planned the attack
Westman’s attack appeared to have been calculated and premeditated, as backed by YouTube videos released on the day of the incident.
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The videos, now taken down, appeared on a channel under “Robin W.” One video, which ran for more than 10 minutes, included a handwritten “manifesto” addressed to family and friends. In the video, the unseen cameraperson says, “I’m sorry to my family … that’s the only people I’m sorry to.” The clip also pans to an image of Jesus on a target.
Another video, which ran for almost 20 minutes, showed two notebooks with handwritten texts that also appear to be Cyrillic. Near the end of the video, the unseen cameraperson flips the notebook to a page containing a diagram of the church and stabs the diagram with a knife.
The New York Post transcribed parts of the journal. One page reportedly reads: “I am feeling good about Annunciation. It seems like a good combo of easy attack form and devastating tragedy and I want to do more research. I have concerns about finding a large enough group. I want to avoid any parents, but pre and post school drop off.”
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Another page reportedly reads: “Maybe I could attack an event at the on-site church … think attacking a large group of kids coming in from recess is my best plan. … Then from there I can go inside and kill, going for as long as I can.”
O’Hara, in a press conference, confirmed that Westman “recently” purchased their guns—a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol—legally. The Star Tribune reported that a passage in the notebooks referenced how “shockingly easy” it was to buy a gun from a pawnshop.
Identified by federal officials as a transgender woman
Federal officials have identified Westman as transgender.
Westman was born as “Robert Paul Westman” on June 17, 2002, according to court documents TIME reviewed. Westman’s mother applied for their name to be changed to “Robin M Westman” in 2019 in Dakota County, and a court granted the change in 2020. According to the court document, Westman, a minor at the time, “identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification.”
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But a translation of part of Westman’s notebooks by the New York Post’s Diana Nerozzi offered a more complicated view of Westman’s sexual and gender identity: “I don’t want to dress girly all the time but I guess sometimes I really like it. I know I am not a woman but I definitely don’t feel like a man.”
Condemnation of transgender identity has been on the rise under President Trump, and many conservative and far-right personalities have latched onto Westman’s transgender identity as a springboard for more attacks. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R, Ga.) posted on X, “If they are willing to destroy themselves and how God made them then they are willing to destroy others and we saw that happen today.” Right-wing influencer and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer went as far as suggesting that “parents need to start coming together to advocate for trans kids to not be allowed to attend classes in public schools.”
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Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, however, quickly pushed back against any attempts to use the shooting as a means to demonize the transgender community, saying anyone who is doing so has “lost their sense of common humanity.”
Exhibited a fascination for mass shooters
O’Hara said during Thursday’s press conference that Westman “had some deranged fascination with previous mass shooters” and “fantasized about the plans of other mass shooters.”
The videos also hinted at Westman’s fascination with mass shooters. In one, the unseen cameraperson showed guns and weapons on a mattress with the names of at least 10 mass killers, including but not limited to the Sandy Hook shooter from 2012; the shooter at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018; and the mosque shooter in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019.
Also seen in the videos was a sticker of German band KMFDM, which has been cited by perpetrators of previous mass shootings, including the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, though the band has repeatedly emphasized that it stands against violence.
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Claimed to have links with a pro-gun Youtuber
In the 10-minute video, the person narrating claimed that they had met pro-gun YouTube personality and Texas congressional candidate Brandon Herrera last year at the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show in Las Vegas. The narrator said they had a “brief conversation” with Herrera. “Brandon Herrera for President,” they added.
After the shooting, Herrera denounced links to the shooter, posting on X: “I will not, nor will I ever say the name of the gutless coward who decided to take the lives of innocent people in Minneapolis today. My heart goes out to the family of those affected, but to the shooter, I have one thing to say in response. F-ck you. Burn in hell.”
In a separate post, Herrera added: “I don’t remember this individual at all, nor does anyone I was there with.” Herrera said that he was willing to cooperate with law enforcement and answer any questions.
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A spokesperson for NSSF, which owns and operates SHOT Show, told Fox News that Westman’s name has not appeared among any of the show’s registered attendees last year or any of the years before.
Held a mishmash of views
The videos also alluded to a mishmash of views Westman appeared to have held.
In the 10-minute video, the camera panned over what appeared to be guns, ammunition, and loaded magazines. Words were inscribed on the magazines, including “Where is your God?,” “Kill Donald Trump,” and “For the Children.” Some of the inscriptions appeared to be in Cyrillic.
Clips that focused on Westman’s apparent arsenal not only included names of mass shooters but also showed phrases that had antisemitic undertones. A smoke grenade had the words “Jew Gas” written on it and the pro-Holocaust slogan “6 million wasn’t enough.”
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Another notebook displayed a “Defend Equality” sign with an LGBTQ flag.
In an interview with local network KSTP-TV, Josefina Sanchez, a classmate of Westman in the seventh grade, said that a younger Westman would put up a hand and say, “Praise Hitler.”
Threats to kill Trump also appeared a few times on Westman’s gear. Trump, in a Truth Social post, said the White House will “continue to monitor” the situation.
Joseph Thompson, acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota, said on Thursday that in the writings Westman left behind, they “expressed hate towards almost every group imaginable. The shooter expressed hate towards Black people. The shooter expressed hate towards Mexican people. The shooter expressed hate towards Christian people. The shooter expressed hate towards Jewish people.”
Westman “appeared to hate all of us,” Thompson said.
‘I don’t expect forgiveness’
Westman’s four-page “manifesto” posted on YouTube begins with: “I don’t expect forgiveness and I don’t expect any apology I have to hold much weight, but to my family and those close to me, I do apologize for the effects my actions will have on your lives.”
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Further along in the manifesto, Westman wrote: “I have wanted this for so long. I am not well. I am not right. I am a sad person, haunted by these thoughts that do not go away. I know this is wrong, but I can’t seem to stop myself. I am severely depressed and have been suicidal for years. Only recently have I lost all hope and decided to perform my final action against this world.”
