Police video shows Luigi Mangione said he didn't want to talk. They kept asking questions

NEW YORK (AP) — Minutes after police approached Luigi Mangione in a Pennsylvania McDonald's, he told an officer he didn't want to talk, according to video and testimony at a court hearing Thursday for the man charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Although Mangione signaled he wasn't interested in speaking, police continued asking questions, and he continued answering, video showed. Nearly 20 minutes passed before police informed him of his right to remain silent.

The exchanges have been scrutinized this week at a lengthy New York court hearing as Mangione’s lawyers try to keep some key evidence from being presented at his murder trial, including his statements to police and a gun and diary officers say they found in his backpack when he was arrested Dec. 9, 2024, in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Mangione’s lawyers argue that his statements aren't fair game for trial because officers asked questions before reading his rights. The defense says the contents of his backpack should be excluded because police didn’t get a warrant before searching it.

The standards surrounding police questioning and searches are complicated and often argued over once cases get to court. However the issues are ultimately resolved in Mangione's case, the hearing is giving the public an extensive preview of some testimony, video, 911 audio and other records.

Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state and federal murder charges. The hearing, which started Monday and could extend to next week, applies only to the state case.

As Mangione sat in a Manhattan court on Thursday's anniversary of the killing, UnitedHealthcare lowered the flags at its campuses in Minnetonka and Eden Prairie, Minnesota, in Thompson’s memory. Employees were encouraged to engage in volunteering.

The 27-year-old Mangione, meanwhile, appeared to follow the court proceedings intently, at times leaning over the defense table to scrutinize papers or take notes. He briefly looked down as Altoona Police Officer Tyler Frye was asked about a strip-search of Mangione after his arrest. Under the department’s policy, that search wasn’t recorded.

Five days after Thompson was gunned down, Altoona police were tipped that someone at the McDonald’s resembled the much-publicized suspect in the killing. But Frye and Officer Joseph Detwiler initially approached Mangione with a low-key tone, saying only that someone had said he looked “suspicious.” Asked for his ID, he gave a phony New Jersey driver’s license with a fake name, according to prosecutors.

Moments later, after frisking Mangione, Detwiler stepped away to communicate with dispatchers about the license, leaving the rookie Frye by Mangione's table. Frye asked him, “What's going on?” and what had brought him to Altoona.

“I don’t know what you guys are up to. I'm just going to wait,” Mangione answered, and he inquired what was afoot.

After repeating the claim that someone was suspicious of Mangione, Frye asked: “You don’t want to talk to me or anything?”

Mangione indicated that he didn't, shaking his head. But he continued to answer other questions asked by the officers, and also posed a few of his own.

“Can I ask why there’s so many cops here?" he asked shortly before being informed he was being arrested on a forgery charge related to his false ID. Roughly a dozen officers had converged on the restaurant, and Mangione had been told he was being investigated and had been handcuffed and read his rights.

When he was arrested, an officer asked whether there was anything in the backpack that police needed to know about.

“I’m going to remain silent,” Mangione replied.

Police went on to search the bag. They also searched Mangione's pockets, finding objects including a pocket knife — which he alerted them to — and what appeared to be a neatly written to-do list. Entries for the previous day ranged from “digital cam” to “hot meal and water bottles” to “trash bag(s).”

Among the items for the day of his arrest: “survival kit.”

The evidence is key to prosecutors' case. They have said the 9 mm handgun found in the backpack matches the firearm used in the killing, that writings in the notebook laid out Mangione's disdain for health insurers and ideas about killing a CEO at an investor conference, and that he gave police the same fake name that the alleged gunman used at a New York hostel days before the shooting.

Thompson, 50, was shot from behind as he walked to an investor conference. He became UnitedHealthcare's CEO in 2021 and had worked within parent UnitedHealth Group Inc. for 20 years.

Manhattan prosecutors haven't yet detailed their arguments for allowing the disputed evidence. Federal prosecutors have maintained that the backpack search was justified to ensure there was nothing dangerous inside, and that Mangione's statements to officers were voluntary and made before he was under arrest.

Luigi Mangione appears in Manhattan Criminal Court for an evidence hearing, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in New York. (Angela Weiss/Pool Photo via AP)

Luigi Mangione appears in Manhattan Criminal Court for an evidence hearing, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in New York. (Curtis Means /Pool Photo via AP)

Luigi Mangione appears in Manhattan Criminal Court for an evidence hearing, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in New York. (Curtis Means /Pool Photo via AP)

Luigi Mangione appears in Manhattan Criminal Court for an evidence hearing, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in New York. (Angela Weiss/Pool Photo via AP)

Luigi Mangione appears in court alongside his attorneys Karen Friedman Agnifilo, left, and Marc Agnifilo for an evidence hearing, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in New York. (Angela Weiss/Pool Photo via AP)

Luigi Mangione appears in Manhattan Criminal Court for an evidence hearing, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in New York. (Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool)

Luigi Mangione appears in Manhattan Criminal Court for an evidence hearing, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in New York. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — World Cup co-host Mexico was optimistic about its chances of advancing from the group stage after being drawn to play against South Africa, South Korea and a yet-to-be-determined European team.

While some TV analysts described the group as “easy,” coach Javier Aguirre was more cautious.

“We faced Korea and they are not an easy team. They do their job. They are disciplined and organized, while South Africa is not easy either," he said after the draw in Washington on Friday. “They are good teams, but we have a chance, we are at home and with our people.”

Mexico faces South Africa on June 11 in Mexico City in the opening match of the 2026 World Cup. A week later El Tri will play South Korea in Guadalajara. The last group stage match will be against the winner of a European playoff involving Denmark, North Macedonia, Czech Republic and Ireland.

The country has high hopes despite being eliminated in the group stage in the 2022 World Cup and mixed results in international matches ahead of next year's tournament.

“There won’t be any easy opponents, but it could have been worse,” said striker Raul Jimenez, who plays for Fulham in the Premier League. “I think it’s a good group, from which we can learn a lot, and we’re taking it one game at a time because what we want is to win and finish first.”

Mexico has played South Korea twice in World Cup history and won both games, in France 1998 and Russia 2018. The teams tied 2-2 in a friendly match last September.

“It’s basically a European team, everyone is in Europe except the goalkeeper, they have a coach I know and they have physical strength which makes them a very strong opponent,” Aguirre said.

Mexico's only World Cup encounter with South Africa was a 1-1 draw in the opening game of the 2010 tournament, which South Africa hosted. That Mexico team was coached by Aguirre, who is now at the helm for the third time.

Mexico hosted World Cups in 1970 and 1986 and reached the quarterfinals both times. It lost to West Germany on penalties in the quarterfinals of the 1986 tournament. Aguirre, who was a member of that Mexico squad, said hot weather could be an advantage in next year’s tournament.

“I remember the 1986 World Cup match against Germany; it was very hot. It’s going to be a demanding situation for our opponents, but we’ll be preparing at home,” the 67-year-old coach said. “We hope to have our players who are currently playing outside of Mexico back soon so they can adapt.”

Even though it is co-hosting the tournament this time with the United States and Canada, Mexico also expects to receive a boost from playing its group stage matches — and possibly some knockout phase matches — at home.

“You feel a responsibility as one of the hosts to open this great event,” team captain Edson Álvarez said. “We rely on the extra support the fans give us, and opening the event against South Africa helps, and we can do great things.”

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum holds up the team name of Mexico during the draw for the 2026 soccer World Cup at the Kennedy Center in Washington, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025.(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)