Luigi Mangione's fellow Pennsylvania inmates are rallying for his freedom and condemning his prison conditions, as heard in screams captured during a wild TV interview on NewsNation.
"Luigi's conditions suck!" inmates yelled during reporter Alex Caprariello's live shot outside the Huntingdown, Pennsylvania prison Wednesday night on the network's Banfield. "Free Luigi!"
Mangione, 26, is being held on murder and weapons-related charges at State Correctional Institution Huntingdon, where he has his own prison cell, but is not in solitary confinement.
The Ivy League graduate is not under suicide watch and has not had any outside time, prison officials said, according to CBS News.
Tuesday, Mangione, who is accused in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, refused to waive his extradition, paving the way for a lengthy court battle, as it may take up to 45 days to get him back in New York, prosecutors said.
That same day while being escorted by officers into the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania for his court hearing, Mangione appeared to have an outburst as he shouted to reporters, in part, "... completely out of touch, and insults the intelligence of the American people," according to video reviewed by the Lawyer Herald.
Thompson was in New York City for the company's annual investors meeting Dec. 4 when he was allegedly ambushed by a masked Mangione, who fired off several rounds into his back and leg, killing him outside a Manhattan hotel.
Thompson was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Mangione, who immediately fled the scene and evaded capture for nearly a week until his arrest at a Pennsylvania McDonald's, has no prior criminal record in New York, police said. He was not on police radar prior to his capture.
The suspect is from an affluent Maryland family, and is cousins with state Republican Delegate Nino Mangione.
Mangione graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Masters in Engineering in 2020. Before then, he attended an all-boys preparatory school in Baltimore where he was valedictorian.
The accused murderer reportedly suffered from chronic back pain and his family reported him missing Nov. 18, after he cut off communications following a spinal surgery months prior, the New York Post reported.
Mangione last worked as a Data Engineer for TrueCar, according to his LinkedIn.
Since his arrest, several online fundraisers aimed at raising money for his legal fees have been launched by supporters who appear to empathize with the alleged shooter's disdain for the health insurance industry.
