A federal judge has warned the Justice Department that it will face “sanctions” if it violates Luigi Mangione’s right to a fair trial—something it “may” have already done.
District Judge Margaret Garnett, based in Manhattan, alleged in an order Wednesday that the social media posts of two high-ranking DOJ officials—who were parroting a claim made by President Donald Trump that Mangione is guilty—may have violated a court rule.
Garnett, appointed to the bench by Joe Biden, laid out the rule in Wednesday’s order, reminding the DOJ that it is not permitted to declare Mangione guilty before he faces trial for allegedly murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December.
The judge ordered federal prosecutors to advise Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche that the department could face financial penalties or contempt of court findings if any future violations emerge.
An attorney for Mangione, 27, flagged a pair of posts to Garnett in a motion filed earlier this month. The offending posts were made by Chad Gilmartin, a deputy director in the DOJ’s office of public affairs, and Brian Nieves, Blanche’s chief of staff.
Gilmartin shared a post by the White House’s “Rapid Response 47” account on X, which included a snippet of an interview Trump gave on Fox News. The president said then that Mangione “shot him right in the middle of the back—instantly dead.”
Gilmartin quote-tweeted the post, writing that Trump was “absolutely right.” Nieves then retweeted the post, which Gilmartin has since deleted.
A Justice Department official declined to comment when reached by the Daily Beast.
Garnett warned all parties about the local rule in April, reports All Rise News. At the time, she stated that the rule would apply to all levels of the DOJ, including Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Mangione’s legal team has pointed to remarks made by the Trump administration as tainting his right to a fair trial. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has said Mangione partook in “radical left terrorism.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has referred to him as a “left-wing assassin.”
“The Government has indelibly prejudiced Mr. Mangione by baselessly linking him to unrelated violent events, and left-wing extremist groups, despite there being no connection or affiliation,” Mangione’s lawyers wrote, according to All Rise News.
They continued, citing the murder of Charlie Kirk: “A recent, tragic, high-profile murder has only increased this prejudicial rhetoric. The attempts to connect Mr. Mangione with these incidents and paint him as a ‘left wing’ violent extremist are false, prejudicial, and part of a greater political narrative that has no place in a criminal case, especially one where the death penalty is at stake.”
A federal trial date for Mangione is expected to be set in December. If convicted, prosecutors have indicated they will pursue the death penalty.
