The federal case against Luigi Mangione, the man accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has been delayed until April 18, as indicated by the court docket. No reason was given for the postponement, but until now, Mangione has not been federally indicted on charges that could lead to the death penalty. The delay in the federal courtroom comes on the heels of serious accusations from Mangione's defense team pointing to alleged police misconduct in the collection of evidence, ABC7NY reported.

Defense lawyers argue that Pennsylvania police illegally obtained Mangione's DNA after providing him snacks following his arrest at a McDonald's in Altoona, as documented by court papers. The lawyers claim that the arrest itself was baseless, stating that over ten officers converged upon Mangione without probable cause and allegedly neglected to read him his rights or inform him he was a suspect for at least 20 minutes. Such procedures, the defense argues, negates the validity of subsequently collected evidence, including his DNA from the items he consumed at the police station, according to the New York Post.

For Mangione, the accusations run deep, crossing state lines from New York to Pennsylvania, where he also faces charges including possessing an unlicensed firearm, forgery, and providing false identification to police. His lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, has spoken out in a Manhattan courtroom last month, highlighting "very serious issues" with how police in Pennsylvania obtained evidence from her client, which could significantly impact all three of Mangione's separate prosecutions, ABC7NY detailed.

Mangione, a University of Pennsylvania alumnus, has pleaded not guilty to state murder charges, which have been enhanced with a terrorism component after the December 4 killing of Thompson. Further allegations by the defense seek to dismiss evidence gathered from Mangione's backpack, such as a ghost gun, a silencer, a loaded Glock magazine, and multiple fake IDs. These efforts underpin an aggressive defense strategy seeking to dismantle the prosecution's case piece by piece, where communities disenchanted with the American healthcare system and corporate greed, have rallied around Mangione, collecting nearly $740,000 for his legal defense fund. The Blair County District Attorney’s Office has yet to comment on these recent developments.