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, a Minnesota native with a lengthy history of drug- and alcohol-related arrests, was charged with impersonating a federal officer after what prosecutors described as a failed attempt to free Mangione from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Mangione is being held there while awaiting both state and federal murder trials in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The criminal complaint against Anderson did not identify the inmate he allegedly sought to release. However, a law enforcement official familiar with the matter confirmed it was Mangione. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.
Anderson appeared Thursday in Brooklyn federal court and was ordered held without bail. He was not required to enter a plea. Federal prison records show that he is now incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center, the same jail where Mangione is housed.
Messages seeking comment were left for Anderson’s court-appointed attorney and for a spokesperson for Mangione’s legal team.
According to the complaint, Anderson approached the jail’s intake area around 6:50 p.m. Wednesday and told uniformed officers he was an FBI agent. He claimed to possess paperwork “signed by a judge” authorizing the release of a specific detainee.
When officers requested his federal credentials, Anderson produced a Minnesota driver’s license. He then threw documents at the officers and claimed to have weapons, according to prosecutors.
An FBI agent who reviewed the paperwork said it appeared to concern filing claims against the Justice Department, not a judicial release order. Officers searched Anderson’s bag and recovered a barbecue fork and a circular steel blade. A photo included in the complaint shows what appears to be a small pizza cutter wheel.
Anderson’s driver’s license lists an address in Mankato, Minnesota, roughly 65 miles southwest of Minneapolis. A law enforcement official said he moved to New York for a job opportunity that fell through and later worked at a Bronx pizzeria. Court records indicate he has lived in New York since at least 2023, staying at motels, a shelter and a Bronx apartment.
In a lawsuit filed last year alleging injuries from a fall at a city homeless shelter, Anderson said he suffers from multiple disabilities and has been declared fully disabled by the Social Security Administration because of mental illness. He said he had no income and relied on state and federal assistance.
Public records show Anderson has accumulated numerous arrests and convictions over the past two decades in Minnesota and Wisconsin. He also has pending cases in the Bronx, including one in which he is accused of displaying a gun.
Acting as his own attorney in several civil cases, Anderson has filed handwritten lawsuits against the Pentagon, Chinese and Russian ambassadors, and a Minnesota police department. All of those cases were dismissed. Another lawsuit alleging a Bronx pizzeria required him to work 70 hours a week without overtime pay remains pending.
The attempted jail release comes at a pivotal moment in Mangione’s legal proceedings.
Hours before Anderson’s arrest, the Manhattan district attorney’s office asked the judge presiding over Mangione’s state case to set a July 1 trial date. Mangione is also scheduled to appear Friday in federal court, where U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett is expected to decide whether prosecutors may seek the death penalty and whether certain evidence can be used against him.
Last week, Garnett scheduled jury selection in the federal case for Sept. 8, with the remainder of the trial expected in October or January, depending on rulings regarding the death penalty.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to both state and federal charges. The state charges carry the possibility of life imprisonment.
Mangione’s case has drawn significant public attention. Some supporters have attended court appearances wearing green clothing associated with the Mario Bros. character Luigi and carrying signs reading “Free Luigi” and “No Death For Luigi Mangione.”
Brian Thompson, 50, was shot and killed on Dec. 4, 2024, as he walked toward a midtown Manhattan hotel for UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference. Surveillance footage showed a masked gunman shooting him from behind. Authorities said the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were written on the ammunition, referencing a phrase associated with insurance claim practices.
Mangione, a 27-year-old Ivy League graduate from a wealthy Maryland family, was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles west of Manhattan. After court proceedings in Pennsylvania, he was transferred to New York and detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center.
The Brooklyn jail has also housed other high-profile inmates, including former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Former inmates include Sean “Diddy” Combs and cryptocurrency executive Sam Bankman-Fried.
Anderson now joins them behind bars as he faces charges related to his alleged impersonation attempt.
