Luigi Mangione’s Lawyer Rips Eric Adams for Perp Walk Photoshoot
Luigi Mangione’s lawyer slammed Mayor Eric Adams during a hearing Monday, after the embattled New York politician made public statements about her client.
“I’m very concerned about my client’s right to a fair trial in this case,” said Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Mangione’s lawyer. “He’s being prejudiced by some statements that are being made by government officials.”
Friedman Agnifilo said that her client was being used as “political fodder” when New York officials on Thursday made a theatrical show of transporting him from Pennsylvania to New York, where he will face state and federal charges.
“He was on display for everyone to see in the biggest staged perp walk I’ve ever seen in my career,” Friedman Agnilio said. “It was absolutely unnecessary.”
She argued that it was also illegal, given that a perp walk is unconstitutional if not used for a “legitimate law enforcement objective,” citing a Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruling, Lauro v. Charles.
Luigi's lawyer is explicitly calling out Eric Adams being at the perp walk. Incredible stuff. pic.twitter.com/01hIYairJ5
— Read Abolish Rent (@JPHilllllll) December 23, 2024
Mangione was escorted away from a helicopter surrounded by a massive entourage of more than 15 people, including some heavily armed New York Police Department officers, and one special guest.
“And what was the NYC mayor doing at this press conference? That just made it utterly political,” Friedman Agnifilo said.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who was indicted on federal corruption charges in October, inexplicably loomed behind Mangione.
“There was absolutely no need for that whatsoever, and frankly, your Honor, the mayor should know more than anyone of the presumption of innocence that he too is afforded when he [is] dealing with his own issues,” Friedman Agnifilo said. “And frankly, I submit that he was just trying to detract from those issues by making a spectacle of Mr. Mangione.”
In an interview with Pix11 News Thursday, a transcript of which Friedman Agnifilo read out for the record, Adams had explained why he wanted to be present for the stunt.
“I wanted to send a strong message with the police commissioner that we are leading from the front,” Adams said. “I’m not going to just allow him to come into our city. I wanted to look him in the eye and state that, ‘You carried out this terrorist act in my city, the city that the people of New York love.’ And I wanted to be there to show the symbolism of that.”
Agnifilo pointed out that Adams was missing a crucial “allegedly” in there. “Your Honor, he’s not a symbol. He is somebody who is afforded the right to a fair trial, he’s innocent until proven guilty.”
Mangione pleaded not guilty to the murder of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare. Last week, Mangione was indicted on several charges, including “murder in the second degree as a crime of terrorism.”