Prison inmates heard shouting words of solidarity for Luigi Mangione during live broadcast
Inmates of the jail where Luigi Mangione is being held without bail have used a live television report to claim the murder suspect should be ‘freed’ and that his ‘conditions suck’.
26-year-old Mangione is currently being held in his own maximum security cell at Huntingdon State Correctional Institution in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, as per CBS News.
The suspected shooter is awaiting extradition to New York, where he faces multiple charges related to the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50.
Following a nationwide manhunt for the alleged killer, Mangione was arrested in connection to the fatal shooting, which took place in front of a hotel in New York City on December 4.
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He was reprimanded at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania on December 9.
The suspect has since been denied bail and is currently fighting extradition to the Empire State.
As per Forbes and the official arrest warrant filed in New York state count, Magione faces five felony counts, including: a second-degree murder charge in connection to the father-of-two’s death; two counts criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree; criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree; and criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree.
On Wednesday (December 11), NewsNation reporter Alex Caprariello was broadcasting live outside of the Huntingdon State Correctional Institution to discuss the latest on Mangione’s case.
During the segment, he and anchor Ashleigh Banfield began interacting with prison inmates through the fence. It appeared they were watching the live broadcast from inside the facility.
When asked whether they had ‘eyes on Luigi’, one inmate replied ‘no’, while another could be heard shouting: “Luigi’s watching right now."
“Luigi’s conditions suck!,” commented another inmate in a video shown during the show.
This was followed up with the two-word sentiment: “Free Luigi!”
Later in the broadcast, Banfield read out Mangione’s alleged food menu for the day, including macaroni cheese for dinner and porcupine meatballs for lunch.
“I’m going to ask the guys if it was any good the dinner tonight,” she announced to NewsNation viewers.
In the background, the inmates could be heard shouting, with Caprariello quickly translating: “They're saying 'heck no', they're saying 'BS', they're saying 'terrible'. They're saying that that's not what they are eating.”
Since the broadcast was uploaded to YouTube on December 12, it has amassed over 200,000 views and has wracked up more than 1,800 comments from users.
One viewer typed: “Un. F****ng. Believable. One of the craziest things I've ever seen in my life. What a time to be alive. This broadcast will go down in history lol.”
“This is insane!!! This reporter on location, if he’s the one that thought of this, he deserves a raise. Seriously. Whoever thought of this… this is really outta the box,” said someone else.
A third remarked: “I've never seen NewsNation before but if this level of journalism is their norm, I'm in! This was engaging, fascinating and has the human element all of our mainstream media now lacks. Love to see it!”
Another commented: “This is good, honest human journalism. it felt real. well done. thanks and great job.”
Topics: Crime, Film and TV, Luigi Mangione, US News
Ella Scott