Luigi Mangione, accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, appears in Manhattan state court in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)

HOLLIDAYSBURG — A Blair County judge has denied and dismissed requests made by Luigi Mangione’s defense attorney for a pretrial hearing and relief on his Pennsylvania charges.

In her order, Judge Jackie Atherton Bernard deemed Mangione “presently unwilling and unavailable” to appear in Blair County court remotely based on his previous filings through defense attorney Thomas M. Dickey.

As the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York denied Bernard’s previous requests to have Mangione, 27, transported to Blair County for a November pretrial court hearing on his felony forgery, firearm and records tampering case, Bernard stated in her order filed Wednesday that it was “impossible” to hold any hearings on Mangione’s pretrial motions or requests “at this time.”

Bernard then denied and dismissed the requests made by Dickey in his pretrial motion filings on Mangione’s behalf. Dickey had also asked Bernard for a court hearing about Mangione’s unavailability and/or the lack of due diligence to have him transported to Blair County.

The requests were dismissed without prejudice, meaning Dickey has the option of refiling the motions at a later date “in the event Mangione’s unavailability changes.”

Bernard also deemed Mangione’s unavailability as a waiver of Rule 600, or his right to a speedy trial, which dictates that a trial must commence within one year from the file date of the written criminal complaint against the defendant. She then directed Dickey to advise the court in writing if Mangione reconsiders his position and will appear remotely.

This order is the latest in a series of court filings in recent months as Dickey has tried to get Mangione in Blair County’s custody for pretrial litigation.

In a hearing Sept. 8, Bernard issued contemporaneous orders for a hearing to be held on Nov. 7 — which has since been canceled — and for Mangione’s in-person appearance. Court documents stated that Mangione would be “returned promptly” to the U.S. Marshal’s custody upon the hearing’s conclusion.

Those orders were denied by a data analyst with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which prompted an objection from Dickey on the basis of their authority to perform such tasks. A second denial was then filed by the Blair County District Attorney’s Office, authorized by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and signed by U.S. Attorney Sean Buckley and four assistant attorneys.

In the court document requesting Mangione’s presence, Dickey wrote that Mangione “demands and insists that he be present in person for any and all critical stage proceedings in Pennsylvania.”

“(He) will not agree to waive or diminish, in any way, his right to be present, as protected by the Constitution of the United States and of this Commonwealth,” Dickey wrote.

Blair County District Attorney Pete Weeks and First Assistant District Attorney Nichole Smith explained their position in a previously filed court document, citing safety, logistics, cost and security concerns associated with transporting Mangione, whose New York charges have drawn significant attention from the news media and the public as reasons why the requests would be denied.

In Blair County, Man­gione is facing felony counts of forgery and firearms not to be carried without a license, as well as misdemeanor counts of tampering with records, possession of an instrument of crime with intent and false identification to a law enforcement officer. He was taken into custody on those charges by Altoona police in December 2024 following the high-profile killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, of which Mangione is the main suspect.

Mangione, after being arrested at the Plank Road McDonald’s on Dec. 9, subsequently waived extradition to New York, where he remains in a federal prison, charged with homicide and related offenses in the shooting death of Thompson.

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor-Musselman is at 814-946-7458.