A Minnesota man is facing federal charges after allegedly trying to walk into a New York jail and free Luigi Mangione by pretending to be an FBI agent, according to law enforcement sources.
Mark Anderson, 36, was charged Thursday with impersonating a federal officer after authorities say he showed up at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn claiming he had a court order to release Luigi Mangione. Mangione is currently locked up at the facility while awaiting both federal and state trials tied to the December 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Investigators say Anderson entered the intake area at MDC Brooklyn and told Bureau of Prisons staff he was an FBI agent there on official business. He allegedly claimed to have paperwork signed by a judge authorizing the release of a specific inmate. While the criminal complaint does not name Mangione directly, law enforcement sources confirmed that Mangione was the inmate Anderson was trying to remove.
When officers asked Anderson to show federal credentials, prosecutors say he failed to produce any. Instead, he allegedly showed a Minnesota driver’s license and handed officers a stack of documents in an attempt to back up his story. Authorities did not say what the documents contained, but officials determined they were not legitimate court orders.
According to the complaint, Anderson also told staff that he had weapons in his bag. A search of the bag reportedly turned up a barbecue fork and a pizza cutter. While neither item is considered a traditional weapon, officials said the claim raised alarms and added to concerns about Anderson’s intent.
Anderson was taken into custody at the facility and charged with impersonating a federal agent, a serious offense that carries potential prison time. He was expected to appear in court later Thursday for an initial hearing.
Mangione, the inmate Anderson allegedly targeted, remains in federal custody. Prosecutors say Mangione is facing charges related to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was shot and killed in what authorities have described as a deliberate, execution-style attack in December 2024. The case has drawn national attention due to Thompson’s high-profile role in the healthcare industry and the violent nature of the crime.
Mangione is scheduled to appear in court Friday, where the judge overseeing his federal case is expected to decide whether prosecutors will be allowed to seek the death penalty if he is convicted. He is also facing a separate state case in New York, with Manhattan prosecutors pushing to have the state trial begin before the federal proceedings.
Authorities have not said whether Anderson had any personal connection to Mangione or whether anyone else was involved. Investigators are still reviewing how Anderson planned to carry out the release and what he believed would happen once he reached the detention center.
Federal officials have not commented publicly beyond the court filings, and no additional charges have been announced at this time.