Minnesota man indicted for impersonating FBI agent in attempt to free Luigi Mangione

A Minnesota man has been indicted on a federal charge after authorities say he tried to enter a Brooklyn detention center while falsely claiming to be an FBI agent in an attempt to secure the release of Luigi Mangione.

The indictment was returned Wednesday in the Eastern District of New York, according to New York City Courts reporter Erik Uebelacker, who reported that the defendant was charged with one count of impersonating a federal agent, an offense punishable by up to three years in prison.

The incident occurred in late January. Prosecutors alleged in a criminal complaint that Mark Anderson approached the intake area at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and told Bureau of Prisons officers he was an FBI agent acting under federal authority.

Anderson claimed to have paperwork “signed by a judge” authorizing the release of a specific inmate from custody, according to the filing.

CNN reported, citing law enforcement sources, that the inmate Anderson sought to have released was Luigi Mangione.

When officers asked him to present federal credentials, Anderson showed a Minnesota driver’s license and said he possessed weapons, the complaint stated. Officers detained him and searched a backpack he was carrying, which prosecutors said contained a large barbecue-style fork and a round steel blade.

Anderson was taken into custody by Bureau of Prisons officers. An FBI agent later arrived and formally assumed custody, according to court records.

Mangione is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in connection with the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare Chief Executive Brian Thompson in Manhattan. The case remains pending in both state and federal courts.