D4LC Weekly Update - February 27th

It's been another eventful week. You may have noticed that we are now The Official Luigi Mangione Defense Fund and making our way to $1 million. 

This past Friday was a pretrial hearing for Luigi. Hours ahead of time, the court restricted the number of people who could enter the courtroom, and in the moments before Luigi's arrival, they evacuated most people from the outside hall. Guards quickly escorted him from one door and through the next in a way that seemed to have one primary intention: minimize visibility and contact with his large crowd of supporters. This is but one example of the state's desperate attempts to control how Luigi is depicted. Despite this, the courtroom artist reported that she "[didn't] think there was anybody in that room that wasn't there for him." Even veteran and whistleblower Chelsea Manning - who served 7 years in prison for leaking evidence of U.S. government wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan - made an appearance. Other reports stated that the crowd of hundreds of supporters rallying outside was heard through the courtroom walls, singing "Free Luigi!", and generally making their presence known to everyone in court.

Among the reports, these were some of the most notable moments:

• Luigi Mangione was kept in arm and leg shackles the entire time. His lawyer, Karen Agnifilo, is on the record requesting that they remove them. The judge denied this request under a pretense of security. Contrary to protecting anyone, it's clear that this was meant to make Luigi look powerless in the face of his widespread support and the general public.
• Luigi's defense has still not received a discovery from the prosecution, which would allow them to review the state's evidence and file motions. Despite Karen's objections, the judge proceeded to schedule the motion hearings, even though in order to file motions, Luigi's defense team must first review the discovery.
  
• It was brought to the judge's attention that an HBO documentary was released which interviewed NYPD's chief of detectives and New York mayor Eric Adams, where they refer to and quote the very same discovery evidence that Luigi's lawyers have not yet been provided by the prosecutor.
  
• This documentary, among several others released in the past two months, egregiously violates Luigi's presumption of innocence, and alongside the dominant media narrative, frames him as "guilty until proven innocent", making a fair trial impossible.
• Suspicions have been raised that an illegal search and seizure was conducted of Luigi's person in Pennsylvania, violating his constitutional rights.
• In response to claims that Luigi is being treated differently than other prisoners, the judge threatened to send him to the notorious Rikers prison.
• We still don't know whether the feds will attempt to pursue the death penalty, a cruel and unusual punishment that the large majority of the world has abolished either in law or practice.

In less covered news, the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), where Luigi is being held, has been on lockdown. We are still working to confirm the details of the lockdown. Attorney visitation is still allowed, but it is our understanding that general visits and internet access has been suspended for all inmates, including Luigi.

Thank you for your continued support.

- The December 4 Legal Committee

D4LC Weekly Update - Monday, February 17 

In the past week, donations continued to pour in to support Luigi, both domestic and abroad. The fund has climbed rapidly from the near 300K to over $460K, and you might have noticed that we increased our goal to $1,000,000. We do not think this is ambitious, but rather appropriate. The December 4th Legal Committee thanks all who have contributed to the fund and welcome those who join this grassroots campaign every day. Some of our largest donations came in this week and we are thankful for them and for all the small contributions that together add up to nearly $500,000 of legal support for Luigi. The ability to ensure he receives the most rigorous legal defense relies on the many thousands of you who donate.

Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, this week we saw the brazen censorship of Pro-Luigi TikTok accounts. 100's of accounts disappeared overnight, including purely informational accounts focusing on following the trial. This comes in the lead-up to two court dates for Luigi; we understand that free speech is only free when it does not frighten those in power. The millions of Luigi supporters expressing themselves on social media, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for Luigi's legal defense, writing him letters, and having look-a-like contests frightens them into censoring and do anything to dampen that energy. In the face of this pushback, your message is clear: we will not be silenced, and we will continue to advocate for Luigi and express our support.

This week also saw the launch of the official support website for Luigi, run by his legal team. Check it out at https://www.luigimangioneinfo.com/

There are several upcoming documentaries about Luigi in production. One is to be released this week. Some of us at the December 4th Legal Committee gave interviews for these documentaries. This was not done out of any particular trust for these documentarians but out of a desire to ensure that the record shows that there is a robust popular support for Luigi that has expressed itself. As the censorship increases across platforms, we will continue to creatively search for outlets to communicate the extent of international support for Luigi.

There are some upcoming court dates listed on the official Luigi Mangione website. Please be on the lookout, especially if you are in the New York Metropolitan Area or Pennsylvania, for ways to support Luigi on these court dates. Friday February 21st in New York, NY, Monday, February 24th in Hollidaysburg, PA, and in federal court Wednesday March 19th New York, NY. Continue to visit https://www.luigimangioneinfo.com/ for up-to-date information on Luigi's upcoming court dates. 

- The December 4 Legal Committee

Dear supporters of the Luigi Mangione legal fund,

We are excited to announce that we have established contact with Karen Friedman Agnifilo and the rest of Luigi's legal team, who will be accepting your donations. In response to hearing about your 10,000+ individual donations, averaging under $30, Karen stated that Luigi "very much appreciates the outpouring of support." We feel honored to provide supporters with a reliable way to continue contributing to his legal fees through any future donations.

Yesterday marked the two month anniversary since Luigi Mangione's arrest. Americans watched the media scramble to demonize him as social media comments overflowed with support. The average American understands who the real culprits are, despite the ghoulish display of power during his perp walk or the out of touch coverage most media pundits offer. Nothing can shake their resolve. On the contrary, these attempts to diminish his support have only backfired. Even the Newsweek article that attempted to characterize this fund as stagnant was met with a surge of new donations. Since then (six days ago), the fund has skyrocketed another $64,000, with no signs of slowing down.

Prosecutors have responded to this support by levying unprecedented terrorism charges against Luigi, which would make him eligible for the death penalty. This is fundamentally unacceptable. We are thrilled that the money raised by this campaign will go toward building the strongest possible defense against these insulting charges.

Alongside this update, we'd like to share a special message from the Party Girls podcast and D4LC spokespeople.

The December 4 Legal Committee will continue raising funds for Luigi’s legal defense for the duration of the trial. We encourage his millions of supporters to find creative and public ways to advocate for him during his time behind bars in whatever ways seem right. You can also donate, spread the word, and definitely send him mail. We can verify that even though some of it gets rejected in the process, Luigi loves the many letters, memes, and books that get through. 

We remain committed to a world where our survival and wellbeing are no longer sacrificed for another's wealth.

Thank you again for your continued support.

-The December 4 Legal Committee

Thank you to everyone here who is continuing to show up for Luigi and thank you for sharing your stories and words of support. We all know firsthand about the horrors orchestrated by the for-profit healthcare industries in this country. But we still have been immensely moved by the stories that have been shared on this page. Thank you for trusting in each other enough to share the dark parts of life we have all born witness to. You have shared your grief, your pain, your rage, your solidarity and your determination with us. Your stories are some of the words we have passed along to Luigi in our letters from this movement. Ultimately, it is the determination that we need together to get through a long battle -- a battle both for Luigi's freedom, and for a world that is free of this system that turns human lives into dollar signs. We are not expendable, and we are not stupid. We won't be fooled into thinking that this system is the best we can get. 

The donations to this campaign have been small, but they have added up to something massive. To all those who wrote that they cannot spare much, but it was important to show support, thank you. Together, we are more powerful. To date, we have raised approximately $226,000 for Luigi's legal support.

In recent weeks, we have seen even more news stories try to demonize Luigi and his supporters. But strong support for Luigi continues. Legal battles are long, and it's critical that we keep up energy and solidarity as Luigi sits waiting his day in court. Whatever the media says, it's clear to all of us: it is the healthcare system that is on trial. 

Thank you for continuing to share & contribute. Our small team of volunteers is working to establish contact with Luigi and provide more substantial updates. His communications are highly limited and restricted, but we have some hopeful indications that we will reach him soon. We are continuing to speak with media interested in the perspective of his supporters. We are here for Luigi for the long haul, and we know you all are too! 

FREE LUIGI <3

-

D4 Legal Committee

Give Send Go's response to our questions about the ~$7000 decrease in the fundraiser balance:

"The reason for the decrease in the funds raised is due to donors either disputing their donation to the campaign or requesting refunds. We have no control over donations when they are disputed. As for the refunded donations, when a donor requests a refund we will manually review their donation, alongside the reason for the refund request.

If their request is deemed to be within reason, we will refund the donation to avoid a dispute. This is because a dispute would result in the donation amount being withdrawn from the campaign's balance, in addition to a $15 dispute fee. 

It looks like these donations were refunded:

31 Dec 2024, $20.00   

29 Dec 2024, $​5.00​ 

26 Dec 2024, $​5.00​

26 Dec 2024, $​5.00​  

24 Dec 2024, $​5.00​   

24 Dec 2024, $​600.00​

24 Dec 2024, $​2500.00​

24 Dec 2024, $​2000.00​ 

24 Dec 2024, $​1500.00​    

24 Dec 2024, $​800.00  

24 Dec 2024, $​20.00​   

​​22 Dec 2024, $​5.00​

19 Dec 2024, $​500.00​

18 Dec 2024, $​5.00​

18 Dec 2024, $​25.00​ 

16 Dec 2024, $​5.00​ 

15 Dec 2024, $​1000.00​

13 Dec 2024, $​5.00​

12 Dec 2024, $​35.00​

12 Dec 2024, $​50.00​

12 Dec 2024, $​5.00​ 

11 Dec 2024, $​20.00​

10 Dec 2024, $​100.00​

9 Dec 2024, $​20.00

We understand this may be disappointing news, and we appreciate your understanding in this matter. If you have any questions or require further details, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Thanks for choosing GiveSendGo."

We have had complaints about the infrequency of updates from donors and appreciate your desire to be kept up-to-date but those of us managing this fundraiser are volunteers. We all have day-jobs, families, communities, and other obligations. When we do have important updates, we do our best to post them promptly. It was the holiday season and the post-holiday rush of returning to life and work. We appreciate your support and patience, especially as we enter a period where we await word from Luigi and/or his legal team as developments in the case are likely to slow.

An update regarding the decrease in funds donated by $7000: it seems either that funds were deducted for GiveSendGo's fees or possibly that several donations have been contested by payment processors and/or refunded to donors though we are still waiting on an answer from GiveSendGo regarding whether those funds would be returned to the fund once payment processors confirm with donors that the donations were in fact valid. We will post an update once we have one, but the matter seems to lie largely in the hands of the donors and payment processors in question. 

    The state is now pursuing charges of terrorism and first degree murder against Luigi, further evidence of the political nature of his case. First degree murder charges are generally reserved for when the victim is a judge, a police officer or a first responder, or the person had an intent to commit terrorism. Do prosecutors and the state view CEOs as state officers because of how much funding they receive from private interests for their political campaigns from CEOs like Thompson? And on what grounds could they consider Luigi’s alleged actions terrorism?

Terrorism is an act meant to strike fear into the general population, while Luigi's alleged actions only struck fear into a tiny group of ultra-wealthy CEOs of corporations profiting off of sickness and death. There is a long history of the state weaponizing terrorism charges against common people working to change the unbearable status quo of how the state and corporations exploit, rob, and kill them. 

We are sending Luigi an updated letter about the fundraiser at his new mailing address:

Luigi Mangione

52503-511

MDC Brooklyn

Metropolitan Detention Center

P.O. Box 329002

Brooklyn, NY 11232. 

We have also reached out to his NY legal team with the info about the fundraiser and the request that they pass along the news to Luigi if he does not yet know about it with the hopes of finding out whether he wants to funds or would like them to go to other political defendants and prisoners.

Luigi has a new lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, in NY. We're reaching out to her with the letter we wrote Luigi (with an updated # for how much we've raised) to ask her to pass it along to him and ascertain what he would like done with the money. We'll keep you posted when we hear back. 

The letter is on its way! Here's what we wrote:

Dear Luigi Mangione,

You are going through a lot right now, but we wanted to let you know that we set up a legal defense fund for you and we have received over $30,000 and counting to put towards your defense or, if you do not want the funds, toward the defense of other political prisoners and defendants facing politicized charges. Along with the donations have come hundreds of messages of support for you. We are reaching out to your legal defense as well in case this letter doesn’t reach you. If you or your lawyer want to call us, we can be reached at - -xxxx. You can also reach us by email at xxxxxxxxxxx@gmail.com.

In the hopes that this may help you get strong legal representation as you face these charges,

The December 4th Legal Committee

Some comments from anonymous donors:

"I was 6 when I was diagnosed with cancer. I watched as my parents suffered under medical bills not covered by insurance. Once we got back from treatment to see people in our yard bidding on our house. A neighbor had to liquidate their 401(k) to ensure we had a place to sleep. It took mom and dad 20 years of tireless work to get out from under the debt, but I am here now to say you are a hero."

"I hope the little I can give will make a difference for you. I believe your sacrifice has worked and the people are opening their eyes."

"Denying healthcare coverage to people is murder, but no one gets charged with that crime. 'bout time we point out this hypocrisy."

"Nearly all of us except the 1% are uninsured or underinsured. Stay together on this one and don’t let us be divided my American brothers and sisters. Let this sacrifice be the spark and catalyst for change. Universal healthcare is a human right, while our private, for-profit health insurance system is a crime against humanity."

"As a physician who witnesses every day just how corrupt, greedy, and unethical the health care system is and how it is set up to crush the common person, I applaud Luigi for his courage, heart, and passion. Luigi, you are fighting the fight that so many of us in medicine have been neutered or brainwashed to avoid. Thank you for your service and for helping America wake up! You are not alone!"

"Like me, many RNs, doctors and other health professionals have seen 1st hand harm done to people by actions of United Health insurance and other insurers. People die due to their actions daily. A single CEO’s death hardly compares to the deaths of thousands of fellow countrymen. Nurses and doctors who see the abuse and leave, unable to fight any longer. This is a fight worth having."

“Luigi did more for this country and sacrificed more than I ever did as an honorably discharged member of the U.S. Army who served in combat zones. Political failures corporate donations to politicians and political corruption have all lead to the extortion of millions of Americans. Some may not like Luigi’s actions, but sometimes hard choices have to be made. How many died as a result of UHC?”

“Contributing all the way from Singapore. U risked your future for all the underdogs everywhere. Nothings more noble to me than that.”

“As a healthcare provider, you have my complete support. Insurance companies are evil entities without reigns. Thank you for your service.”

“Class solidarity! This man has done something incredibly brave and extreme to help unite us against the ruling class. All Americans deserve healthcare free from profiteering.”

“Every media platform and talking head and politician and exec who condemns the people supporting this action only demonstrates the depth of their disdain for the common person in America and how out of touch they are with the misery and indignity forced on people by our healthcare system.”

“This donation is in memory of a single mom of 3 toddlers who died after insurance company refused to pay for her treatment, leaving her 3 toddlers without a mom or dad.”

“Luigi’s actions represent a fierce rejection of a system that profits massively yet doesn’t care about the American people. Our deaths, our pain, our cries for help are constantly silenced and ignored, as we work multiple jobs just to afford to live. This isn’t about political parties. It’s about CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS. FREE LUIGI.”

“You took on a huge burden to right a terrible wrong. I am sorry it came to this, but I do feel like what you have done has sparked something bigger, that in time the changes that ripple out from this act will become profound, lasting, and good for all. Wishing you peace (remember to breathe) and hope.”

We've gotten a mailing address for Luigi in jail! We're writing directly to him to see what he would like us to do with these funds. Thank you for your continued support of this legal fund. We'll keep you abreast of ongoing updates here. 

Smart Communications/PADOC
Luigi Mangione QQ7787
SCI Huntingdon
PO Box 33028
St Petersburg, FL 33733

This evening Luigi was also charged with murder and additional weapons charges

Apologies for the brief interruption in the fundraiser. We had a technical issue on our end but it has been resolved. 

As more information comes out about the charges against Luigi, we'll post updates here. He has initially been charged with :

One count of forgery (grade 2 felony)

One count of carrying a firearm without a license (grade 3 felony)

One count of tampering with records or identification (grade 1 misdemeanor)

One count of possessing instruments of crime (grade 1 misdemeanor)

One count of false identification to law enforcement (grade 3 misdemeanor)

This doesn't mean he won't face additional charges, just that this is all they feel they can prove right now. 

Luigi Mangione has been taken into custody as a suspect in this case. The 26-year-old, born and raised in Maryland, was picked up while eating at a McDonalds in Pennsylvania.