Freshly released police footage has shed new light on the dramatic moment officers confronted Luigi Mangione in a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania, after a tip-off suggested he might be the man wanted in the high-profile killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The body-camera video, shown in court on the fifth day of a crucial pre-trial hearing, has become a central piece of the ongoing legal battle over whether evidence gathered during Mangione’s arrest should be allowed when his murder case finally reaches trial.
A Tip-Off Leads Police to a Quiet Corner of McDonald’s
Prosecutors say Mangione, 27, is responsible for the 4 December 2024 shooting of CEO Brian Thompson in New York City, a killing that triggered a rapid, multi-state search for the suspect.
Luigi Mangione returned to court this week as prosecutors played surveillance footage of the kill*ng of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare.
His lawyers are arguing that the handgun, journal entries and other items found in his backpack should be barred from trial… pic.twitter.com/OqEi3tRn9x
— Tortured History (@TorturedHistory) December 2, 2025
Five days later, on 9 December, Altoona police followed up on a call from someone who believed a man inside a local McDonald’s matched the description of the murder suspect.
The body-cam video shows officers Joseph Fetwiler and Tyler Frye calmly entering the restaurant. They walk towards a man wearing a knit hat and a medical mask, sitting near the back.
When officers ask him to lower the mask, he does so without hesitation.
They then ask for his name. The man replies “Mark”, followed by a surname that officers heard as “Rosario.” “Someone called, and they thought you were suspicious,” an officer explains.
The man apologises and hands over an ID that reads “Mark Rosario,” though the photo strongly resembles Mangione. As one officer steps away to run the licence, another asks where he is from. The video ends shortly after.
Dispute Over Evidence Grows Ahead of Trial
The arrest led police to recover several particulars now at the centre of a heated legal disagreement: a murder armament, a dynamo silencer, a loaded magazine, and what prosecutors have described as a firearm.
Mangione’s defence platoon argues the hunt was carried out without leave, making the substantiation unlawful.
They’re also pushing to count the corridor of the body-camera footage, including the moment Mangione allegedly uses a fake name, saying officers questioned him before issuing his Miranda rights.
Bodycam footage of Luigi Mangione’s arrest has been released. pic.twitter.com/93tbDyqTpj
— DramaAlert (@DramaAlert) December 9, 2025
The defence has had some success already, managing to have state terrorism charges dismissed in September.
What is Mangione facing?
Mangione is charged in civil court with murder, stalking, and discharging a firearm fitted with a silencer in the commission of a crime, charges carrying the eventuality of the death penalty.
Independently, New York prosecutors have charged him with alternate-degree murder, felonious possession of an armament, and possession of a forged instrument, all of which could result in life in captivity. He has entered not-shamefaced pleas to both sets of charges.
A Case Drawing Intense Public Attention
With the murder of a high-profile healthcare executive, a cross-state manhunt, and now a dispute over the arrest process itself, the Luigi Mangione case continues to draw significant attention in both the US and abroad.
The judge’s forthcoming decision on whether the challenged evidence can be used at trial is expected to shape how the prosecution builds its case and how the defence positions itself moving forward.
As the legal fight deepens, the newly released footage offers the public a clearer glimpse into the moment police first came face-to-face with the man at the centre of one of America’s most closely watched murder investigations.
