Luigi Mangione's Court Chaos: Accused CEO Killer Got 'Trapped' in Elevator Before Facing Judge — As Federal Trial Is Pushed Back to Next Year
Luigi Mangione faced an unplanned delay getting to his court hearing.
June 29 2026, Published 6:00 p.m. ET
Luigi Mangione's latest hearing ahead of his upcoming federal trial had some real ups and downs, Breaking Celebrity News can reveal, after the alleged assassin reportedly got stuck in an elevator on the way to the courtroom.
The 28-year-old has faced multiple snafus during the extended wait for his day in court, which has now been pushed back to next year.
Where Was Luigi Mangione?
Mangione faces state and federal charges for the murder. of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
As Mangione was being brought up to the hearing on Monday, June 29, the elevator, packed with the accused killer and several armed guards, apparently became stuck.
Building engineers had to be called and were able to get Mangione and the two deputies with him out of the elevator, causing a nearly 30-minute delay before the hearing could get underway.
When he did finally make it out of the elevator, witnesses inside the courtroom said Mangione was forced to enter through a different door and found himself awkwardly weaving his way through the gallery to get to the defense table. But it seemed like he kept it all in stride.
"When he sat down, he was very, very chatty with his defense attorneys," journalist Laurin Conlin, who was in court for the hearing, shared on X. "He appeared to be really happy. He was laughing; he was smiling. They were all kind of laughing. And he seemed like he was telling them a story or something."
Trial Delayed Until January
Defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo tried to laugh off the delay.
Once the laughter subsided and the hearing was finally able to get underway, Judge Margaret Garnett announced she was delaying his federal trial to January 2027 to allow time for the separate state case against Mangione, scheduled to start Sept. 8. The federal trial was originally set to begin in October, but the judge wanted to avoid any possible crossover time between the two.
"In my view, it’s simply impossible to be moving through the jury selection process in this case while the defendant and his counsel are fully occupied by conducting the state trial," Garnett said.
Mangione's lawyers declined to comment on the date change outside the courtroom, but attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo briefly addressed the delay.
"It was some sort of elevator issue; that’s all I know," she said before hurrying past reporters.
Luigi Mangione Goes Missing
A previous hearing had to be scrapped when Mangione was not called to attend.
This wasn't the first unexpected delay to a Mangione hearing. Earlier this month, a court date for his murder case against the state of New York had to be postponed after no one at the jail went to get him.
Judge Gregory Carro was forced to cancel the June 16 hearing roughly 30 minutes after it was supposed to start when Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann told him that prosecutors had failed to send required paperwork to the jail, telling them to send Mangione over.
"It's on us," an embarrassed Seidemann told the judge. "We got the writ signed, but we failed to serve it."
"That's unfortunate," Carro replied.
Outside the courtroom, defense attorney Karen Agnifilo brushed the snafu off, telling reporters, "Mistakes happen. People make mistakes."
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Is a Plea Deal in the Works?
Mangione is being held at a federal prison while he awaits two trials.
Mangione is being held at a federal jail in Brooklyn while awaiting trial for the December 4, 2024, killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a midtown Manhattan hotel.
A surprising plea deal had reportedly been discussed last week, with word that Mangione's attorneys were talking with federal prosecutors, but it appears nothing ever came from those conversations.
Mangione is now set to go to trial in the state case on Sept. 8. His federal trial, which involves stalking charges, is set to begin on January 27.
He has pleaded not guilty in both cases and could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted in either case.
