A man claiming to be an FBI agent showed up at a Brooklyn jail with a barbecue fork and pizza cutter and tried to free Luigi Mangione on Wednesday night, according to a law enforcement official and a federal criminal complaint.
Prosecutors said Mark Anderson, 36, told employees at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center that he worked for the FBI and said he had a court order to release a detainee. A law enforcement source said that the detainee was Luigi Mangione.
When jail staff asked Anderson to provide his credentials, prosecutors said, he gave them a Minnesota driver’s license.
He threw several documents at them related to filing claims against the U.S. Department of Justice, the criminal complaint said. He also told officials that he had weapons in his bag, and a search turned up the barbecue fork and a circular steel blade, according to the complaint.
Anderson had traveled to New York City for a job opportunity that did not work out and had been working at Louie Ernie’s pizzeria in the Bronx, the law enforcement source said.
Large barbeque type fork and a round steel blade prosecutors say Anderson was carried when he was arrested.
Anderson was arrested at the Metropolitan Detention Center and faces a federal charge of impersonating an FBI agent.
In Brooklyn federal court on Thursday, defense attorney Michael Weil asked Magistrate Judge Taryn Merkl to release Anderson to a hospital for an evaluation instead of holding him in jail. He said claiming to be an FBI agent without a badge was “not a serious attempt to spring a federal inmate.”
“It seems like a case representing something else going on,” Weil said.
The attorney said his client has been arrested several times in the Bronx in recent months, likely signaling that he needs mental health treatment.
He has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of menacing with a weapon, petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property, according to state court records.
“He’s very alone in this world,” Weil said, adding that Anderson was not raised by his family and has been “in the system” since he was 13.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Dennehy said Anderson should be detained while he awaits trial because of his Bronx arrests, as well as several prior convictions for crimes including aggravated robbery and narcotics offenses. He said Anderson came to the Brooklyn jail with weapons to try to break out a detainee “whose name is not necessarily relevant.”
Luigi Mangione is incarcerated at the notorious Brooklyn federal jail while he awaits trial in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Midtown hotel in December 2024.
He faces charges in both federal and state court, including murder. If convicted of the most serious charge against him in the federal case, he could face the death penalty.
Law enforcement, elected officials and members of President Donald Trump’s administration have condemned Thompson’s killing. But supporters have flocked to Mangione’s court dates and praised him on social media. The case has fueled debates about the American health insurance industry and corporate greed.
Merkl ultimately decided not to release Anderson to a hospital, saying that she needed to see “a more concrete plan” that he would comply with treatment, return to court and not commit further crimes.
She said she would issue a medical order to the Metropolitan Detention Center directing jail staff to conduct an evaluation. But she said Anderson may need to be transferred to another facility with more expertise in medical treatment.
Anderson appeared in court wearing a gray, quarter-zip fleece with close-cropped hair. He spoke animatedly with his attorney throughout the court appearance, at one point prompting the judge to instruct them to speak more softly so others couldn’t hear their private conversations.
At the end of the appearance, Anderson asked the judge to seal the body camera footage from his arrest for “political” reasons. Merkl said his attorney would need to make a formal request.
This story has been updated with arraignment information.
