A Manhattan judge on Tuesday said there would be an overflow room for press and spectators at alleged CEO killer Luigi Mangione’s upcoming murder trial and that it was “reckless” of his lawyers to suggest prosecutors were secretly involved in determining who will get a seat.
Taking the bench a few minutes before 10 a.m., Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro said the defense’s recent complaints about access were premature and that conversations had been ongoing about how to permit more people to attend the closely watched proceedings.
“At no time did the district attorney’s office participate in those discussions, nor did it play any role in determining media or public access. Any suggestion that the district attorney is involved is simply incorrect,” Carro said.
Luigi Mangione, right, speaks with one of his lawyers in Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, in Manhattan, New York. (Barry Williams / New York Daily News)
The Maryland man’s lawyers last week alleged a secretive process had occurred between court administrators and DA Alvin Bragg’s office to hand-pick reporters for trial coverage.
Prosecutors are never involved in determining media or public access to proceedings when there are space constraints. The state Office of Court Administration oversees the process, typically negotiating with local court reporters, who, in this case, had pushed Carro to plan to open an overflow room.
The judge said allegations of exclusion and secrecy made by Mangione’s team were “a reckless mischaracterization of the ethics undertaken by this court” to ensure transparency and public access.
He noted the high-profile case, which has attracted overwhelming public interest and international media attention, was “not the first rodeo” in the Manhattan courts.
In a scene reminiscent of Donald Trump’s hush money trial, which saw a media circus descend on the lower Manhattan courts for some six weeks in the spring of 2024, the Daily News spotted a line forming for the Tuesday’s hearing as early as 6 p.m. Monday, starting with two people who erected a tent across the street from the courthouse by Collect Pond Park and set up foldable chairs for their roughly 13-hour stakeout.
Luigi Mangione, right, speaks with one of his lawyers in Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, in Manhattan, New York. (Barry Williams / New York Daily News)
After addressing accessibility concerns Tuesday morning, Carro spent the remainder of the proceeding having a discussion with the defense and the prosecution at the bench that nobody in the gallery could hear.
He briefly summarized the back-and-forth before adjourning at 10:18 a.m., saying they had continued discussing jury selection and outstanding motions to be filed and decided.
Mangione, 28, who wore a gray suit over a white shirt to his final pretrial hearing, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter and related charges alleging he fatally gunned down Thompson outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown in an act of vengeance toward the U.S.’s expensive healthcare industry.
Mangione also faces federal stalking charges, set to be tried by the Trump Justice Department in January 2027.