Luigi Mangione’s Unfiltered Words About Legal Drama From Tell-All Doc

Investigation Discovery’s tell-all documentary special used Luigi Mangione‘s own words to offer his unfiltered take on his legal drama.

Mangione, 26, was named as the prime suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson‘s death in December 2024. A New York grand jury indicted Mangione on terrorism charges that same month in addition to first-degree murder. He also faces charges for possessing weapons and forged instruments.

After pleading not guilty to the state charges, Mangione was moved to the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York while he awaits his trial. Mangione’s arrest caused unprecedented public support — and inspired multiple documentaries about the case.

Who is Luigi Mangione? was released on Monday, February 17, and narrates Mangione’s perspective using digital archives such as his own online posts and Reddit discussions. Mangione, for his part, released his first public statement days before the documentary special debuted on Investigation Discovery.

“I am overwhelmed by — and grateful for — everyone who has written me to share their stories and express their support,” Mangione wrote in a statement featured on a new website created by his legal defense team. “Powerfully, this support has transcended political, racial, and even class divisions, as mail has flooded MDC from across the country, and around the globe.”

He continued: “While it is impossible for me to reply to most letters, please know that I read every one that I receive. Thank you again to everyone who took the time to write. I look forward to hearing more in the future.”

Who is Luigi Mangione? is streaming on Max. Keep scrolling for a breakdown of Mangione’s most unfiltered quotes from the tell-all doc:

Shedding Light on His Childhood

Investigation Discovery had an actor voicing Mangione’s words from a letter he wrote to the authorities, comments he left online and statements he made on his Mister_Cactus Reddit account before being arrested.

“I remember one time as a young child playing with friends. Fantasizing, we each sketched our ideal ‘dream home,’” he wrote via Reddit. “Everyone else drew intricate mansions. I sketched the floor plan of a small, square house. They thought I was weird. I thought their mansions were full of lots of bulls—.”

Mangione grew up to pursue “a degree in computer science” while also being “very interested in bioinformatics.” He also discussed being “hyper obsessed with efficiency” while “never being materialistic,” which “persisted into adulthood” and inspired him to become an engineer.

“In high school, I was fascinated with the idea of living out of a tin can. Well not ‘living’ that way but being able to survive in the wild using nothing more than a survival kit small enough to fit in an Altoids can,” he detailed. “And it is a good reminder that we are able to go long periods without needing many things.”

Facing Multiple Health Issues

According to Mangione, his initial health issues started when he was a teenager, writing, “I contracted Lyme when I was 13 and started noticing mild cognitive declines when I was 15. My symptoms were very minor at first and I was able to excel in high school.”

Mangione detailed being “in bed for eight hours every night” but waking up “feeling unrefreshed no matter how much sleep” he got.

“The symptoms worsened exponentially last year after my fraternity’s very tame Hell Week. I simply wasn’t able to recover from a week of disturbed sleep,” he noted. “It is absolutely brutal to have such a life-halting issue — especially since the issue itself wears down the critical logic thinking mind you usually use to tackle it.”

Mangione continued: “I used to play cheese daily with my roommate. I used it as a metric to see how the brain fog was improving. Eventually I just stopped because I could never remember any strategy. He would use the same moves against me day after day and I just wouldn’t remember them.”

Dealing With the Challenges All on His Own

“The people around you probably won’t understand your symptoms,” Mangione claimed via Reddit. “They certainly don’t for me. As each test comes back negative, the doctors won’t have a f—ing clue what’s going on.”

Mangione’s issues got worse amid the COVID-19 pandemic when he injured his back.

“It started when I first aggravated my spongy [Spondylolisthesis] one and a half years ago after surfing,” he recalled. “My back and hips locked up after the accident and my whole lumbar/hips have been out of whack since. There is bladder and genital pain for the last year on and off.”

Mangione’s comments highlighted his concerns about his future, in which he added, “It was completely devastating as a young, athletic person. Seemingly all I could read on the internet was that I was destined to chronic pain and a desk job for the rest of my life.”

After seeking help from professionals, Mangione was surprised he didn’t feel better.

“I had surgery two weeks ago because I had nerve issues,” he continued. “Surgery was painful for the first couple of days. But I was shocked that on day seven I was literally on zero pain meds. Obviously will be a while until I get into rigorous activity but it was less a big deal than I had anticipated.”

Mangione used his experience to urge others to explore different approaches, writing, “Keep trying different surgeons. Tell them ‘you are unable to work or do your job.’ We live in a capitalist society. I have found that the medical industry responds to these key words far more urgently than you describing unbearable pain and how it impacts your quality of life.”

His Thoughts on the Unabomber

Ted Kaczynski — also known as the Unabomber — was arrested in 1996 and pleaded guilty to charges including transportation of an explosive with intent to kill or injure, mailing an explosive device with the intent to kill or injure and use of a destructive device in relation to a crime of violence. He was sentenced to eight consecutive life terms in prison without the possibility of parole and he died by suicide in June 2023.

Mangione weighed in on Kaczynski’s manifesto in a review posted on social media.

“It is easy to quickly and thoughtlessly write this off as the manifesto of a lunatic in order to avoid facing some of the uncomfortable problems it identifies,” he wrote, according to the Investigation Discovery doc. “He was a violent individual — rightfully imprisoned — who maimed innocent people. While these actions tend to be characterized as those of a crazy luddite, however, they are more accurately seen as those of an extreme political revolutionary.”

Unpacking His Letter to the Authorities

The docuseries concluded by featuring excerpts from Mangione’s letter to the authorities.

“To the Feds, I’ll keep this short, because I do respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone,” he explained. “This was fairly trivial: some elementary social engineering, basic CAD, a lot of patience. My tech is pretty locked down because I work in engineering so probably not much info there. I do apologize for any strife of traumas but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming.”

Mangione outlined his reasoning, adding, “A reminder: the US has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly No. 42 in life expectancy. United is the largest company in the US by market cap, behind only Apple, Google, Walmart. It has grown and grown, but as our life expectancy? No, the reality is, these mafiosos have simply gotten too powerful, and they continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has allowed them to get away with it. Obviously the problem is more complex, but I do not have space, and frankly I do not pretend to be the most qualified person to lay out the full argument.”

He concluded: “But many have illuminated the corruption and greed (e.g.: Rosenthal, Moore), decades ago and the problems simply remain. It is not an issue of awareness at this point, but clearly power games at play. Evidently I am the first to face it with such brutal honesty.”