Mangione’s court hearing delayed after elevator trap, federal trial pushed to 2027

An elevator trap inside the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse delayed Luigi Mangione’s federal hearing by about 20 minutes on Monday, interrupting proceedings at 40 Foley Square before U.S. Marshals finally brought him into the courtroom. Mangione appeared bemused as he was led inside, and about two dozen supporters filled the gallery as the hearing got underway.

The interruption was only the first development in a day that further reshaped the timetable around one of the nation’s most closely watched federal prosecutions. U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett said Mangione’s federal trial in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson would move from the fall to January 2027. Jury selection is now scheduled for January 5, 2027, with opening statements set for January 25, 2027.

Garnett said the postponement was necessary because Mangione’s lawyers must concentrate on his state murder trial, which is scheduled to begin September 8, 2026. She said it would be impossible to move through jury selection while Mangione and his defense team are fully occupied with the state case. Mangione’s attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, has argued that the defense would otherwise have to review roughly 800 jury questionnaires while also preparing for the state proceeding.

Mangione, 28, faces federal stalking charges tied to the December 2024 killing of Thompson and has pleaded not guilty in both the state and federal cases. The federal prosecution remains before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, while the state case advances on its own schedule, setting up a rare overlap of two major trials involving the same defendant and the same killing.

The delay also put an ordinary courthouse malfunction at the center of a highly securitized proceeding. The elevator snag, the marshals’ escort, the crowded gallery, and the revised trial calendar all underscored how even routine building systems can affect the operation of a federal courthouse when a case draws intense public attention and requires tight coordination between court security, transit through the building, and trial scheduling.