Minnesota man arrested for trying to free Luigi Mangione from prison, posing as FBI

A Minnesota man has been accused of impersonating an FBI agent ‌in a bid to free accused health insurance CEO killer Luigi Mangione from a Brooklyn prison while carrying ⁠a barbecue fork and a round steel blade, court records show. Mangione, 27, awaits a possible death penalty murder trial for allegedly gunning down the CEO of ​UnitedHealthcare in Manhattan in 2024.

A Minnesota man has been accused of impersonating an FBI agent ‌in a bid to free accused health insurance CEO killer Luigi Mangione from a Brooklyn prison while carrying ⁠a barbecue fork and a round steel blade, court records show.

Mangione, 27, awaits a possible death penalty murder trial for allegedly gunning down the CEO of ​UnitedHealthcare in Manhattan in 2024. Public officials condemned the shocking killing, but ‍Mangione became a folk hero of sorts to some Americans who decry steep healthcare costs and insurance practices. Brooklyn federal prosecutors on Wednesday accused Mark Anderson, 36, of Mankato, Minnesota, of ⁠showing ‌up at the Metropolitan ⁠Detention Center and telling prison staff that he was an FBI agent with paperwork ‍signed by a judge authorizing the release of an inmate.

The criminal complaint does ​not identify the inmate, but a law enforcement source not authorized to ⁠speak publicly said it was Mangione. Attorney information for Anderson was not immediately available on Thursday.

Prosecutors said ⁠Anderson provided his Minnesota driver’s license when asked to show credentials and told prison guards he had weapons. Guards arrested and searched Anderson ⁠and found a barbecue knife and a round blade in his backpack, according ⁠to the complaint. He ‌threw documents at the guards that appeared to be unspecified claims against the U.S. Department of Justice, according to the ⁠complaint.