The three superfans supporting Luigi Mangione in court – despite being dragged online

Luigi Mangione supporters who attended his 18th May court hearing with city-issued press passes are facing backlash after making inflammatory comments outside the courthouse.

Mangione faces a nine-count indictment in state court for the  fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan on 4th December 2024. 

Authorities allege that Mangione used a partially 3D-printed 9mm pistol equipped with a Glock magazine to murder Brian Thompson. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The hearing drew viral attention not for the legal rulings, but disturbing comments made by three supporters who had quizzically obtained city-issued press credentials to attend Mangione’s proceedings.

Dubbed the “Mangionistas” online, Lena Weissbrot, Abril Rios and Ashley Rojas spoke to reporters outside Manhattan Criminal Courthouse, where they were questioned about their support. 

Luigi Mangione arrives for a pretrial hearing at New York State Supreme Court in New York, US, on Monday, May 18, 2026. Photographer: Steven Hirsch/New York Post/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Court reporters, especially those covering high-stakes charges, have historically been expected to remain neutral between the defence and prosecution. 

However, speaking to reporters with government-sanctioned press passes hanging from their necks, the self-dubbed Mangionistas made comments that sparked instant backlash

In one instance, Lena Weissbrot said Brian Thompson’s children were “better off without him” and told them to “enjoy the blood money, kids.”

Lena continued: “You should be dancing on the graves of the people who profit off of killing you.”

Lena is also a music performer under the stage name Fellatia G. Under this name, she has released a song using Mangione’s likeness and depicting a picture of Brian Thompson’s face being riddled with a slew of bullets. The song claims that the material “does not promote, condone, or endorse violence.”

Fellatia G.’s wishlist also includes a bulletproof vest, bulletproof helmet, and 3D printer.

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A post shared by T-RIZZM (@fellatiag)

“I’m standing on business, f— Brian Thompson. I don’t give a flying f— he died,” another woman, Ashley Rojas, said.

“I liked it,” Lena chimed in.

Ashley continued: “f— his mom.” She then refused to give her full name despite wearing a press pass that displayed it in all-capital letters.

Abril Rios added: “I mean, why do we protect the Second Amendment so much — is it to allow people to shoot up schools, or is it to protect our democracy?”

Abril continued: “Why can the president say we will hunt you and kill you in an official White House memo? But when we say the president should be held accountable and I want to see him hanging in the town square by his balls, that’s wrong?

“I’m sorry. Two can play at that game. Trump, I’m coming for you baby.”

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A post shared by Abril (@abrillrios)

New York Daily News reporter Molly Crane-Newman posted footage of the comments on X, which amassed 4.4 million views as of 23rd May. 

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani promptly condemned the comments.

“There is a good-natured debate to be had about where a press pass should extend and where it shouldn’t,” Mayor Mamdani told reporters at an unrelated press conference in Queens, New York on Tuesday. “However, the three people that we are talking about don’t fall within that debate.

“As part of the review, we’re going to look into what the immediate next steps are,” he continued.

The Mangionistas reportedly obtained press passes by submitting self-published Substacks, TikToks, and even informal court notes to City Hall.

According to their LinkTree, the fourth Mangionista is a data analysis account dedicated to Mangione whose work was cited by the defence in a June 2025 court filing. It is unclear if this member was present during Monday’s hearing or if they hold a press pass.

The trio’s comments promptly further drew condemnation by the wider public, including from Whoopi Goldberg and Piers Morgan. 

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They were even denounced by other Mangione superfans, many of whom claimed the trio had damaged Mangione’s case and did not represent them.

low key nervous and embarrassed to walk into work cuz what if they saw the news and think i’m a mangionista 😭

— miss information (@clubcillian) May 20, 2026

One woman, who asked to be identified only as “M” and runs a Mangione supporter account, called the comments “absolutely disgusting.”

She told The Tab: “They are hurting Luigi’s case by assuming he committed the crimes when he pleaded not guilty. At the end of the day, they just want attention, and I think the best way to go about it is to not give them that.”

A brother and sister who were 26th and 27th in the public line last week, Monday 18th May, said they had just missed the cut-off for public seats in the courtroom.

The sister called the Mangionistas “an embarrassment” and explained the name is better fit “for a fandom.”

“Although they are entitled to their own opinion, sharing them as press-pass holders and self-proclaimed Luigi supporters is wrong and prejudicial to Luigi’s defence,” she continued.

A supporter by the name of Ally claimed that the Mangionistas’ viral comments unfairly stereotyped Mangione’s supporters as fangirls.

She told The Tab: “A lot of people seem to think supporters are all one type of person, but that’s really not true. Support comes from all kinds of people, including married women like myself, men, elderly people, families, and people from completely different backgrounds.”

A legal content creator who attended Mangione’s 6th February and 18th May hearings blasted the Mangionistas’ support for the defendant as “performative” and a conduit for obtaining Mangione’s attention through New York Post coverage.

She alleged that on 6th February, the three women “kept walking back and forth in front of the cameras” through “constant” passings roughly between the bathroom and courtroom entrance areas.

She also claimed that they thus strategically “ended up on the front page of the New York Post, the newspaper circulated inside MDC Brooklyn…the jail where Luigi Mangione is being held.”

A spokesperson for MDC confirmed that inmates can subscribe to any magazine or newspaper company whilst incarcerated.

The Tab reviewed Discord messages sent by an account named “abrilrios” describing their attendance at Mangione hearings as a supporter. They said that “[t]hey said he gets nypost [sic] in MDC but idk if that’s true,” although they “gave [their] name to every outlet.”

The user added that they have sent several letters to Mangione, including photos of themselves, but lamented that “I feel like I’m not his type anyway [heartbreak emoji].”

Regardless of motives, Mangione’s legal team likely did take notice of the women on Monday.

“These individuals do not represent the views of Luigi, nor the tens of thousands who have shown their support from around the world. The only people who speak for Luigi are his attorneys.” Mangione’s lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, explained in a statement hours after the comments were made. “We condemn these vile and irresponsible statements that have no place in the discourse around these cases.”

The lawyer previously said that Mangione “does not support violent actions” and requested that he not be associated with “unrelated” discourse regarding political violence.

I spent the last few days with media folks trying hard to rewrite the narrative and I almost want to ask them to scrap all of the footage because I am embarrassed to be associated with those individuals, even distantly. These people don’t deserve your respect at all. No clue what…

— S (@liberateluigi) May 18, 2026

Another supporter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said she flies in from Italy to support Mangione for his court proceedings because of her work on incarceration justice. 

She told The Tab: “I think some of us should probably speak publicly a little less, listen more carefully to his defence team, and leave space for Luigi himself to speak one day, if and when he chooses to.”

Mangione secured a partial legal victory in his New York state case after Judge Gregory Carro ruled that some evidence collected during his arrest could not be used at trial because police searched his belongings without a warrant.

The excluded evidence includes a loaded magazine wrapped in wet boxers, a cellphone, and a data chip found during a search at the Altoona McDonald’s where Mangione was arrested.

The judge also barred some of Mangione’s pre-Miranda statements from being used at trial. However, prosecutors will still be allowed to present the gun and red notebook later recovered during an inventory search at the Altoona police station.

Mangione’s state trial is scheduled to begin 8th September and federal trial 13th October.

Lena Weissbrot, Abril Rios and Ashley Rojas were contacted for comment.

Featured image via Instagram @abrillrios @fellatiag and Steven Hirsch/Getty Images