New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office drew outrage on Monday after Luigi Mangione supporters made brazen comments outside the Manhattan Criminal Courts Building while wearing “press” badges issued by the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment.
Mangione, 28, is awaiting trial for the 2024 murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan. The suspect appeared in court for a brief hearing on Monday, where a trio of female supporters were seen wearing press credentials designed to allow journalists access for reporting and newsgathering.
Abril Rios, Ashley Rojas and Lena Weissbrot, who showed off their press badges to the New York Post and have been dubbed “Mangionistas,” didn’t hide their over-the-top support for Mangione or disdain for Thompson.
“F— Brian Thompson,” Rojas said, according to the Post. “That’s all I want to say. F— Brian Thompson. F— his mom.”
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Weissbrot added, “His children are better off without him. They need to learn to not be like their dad. And enjoy the blood money, kids.”
Weissbrot insisted the slain UnitedHealthcare CEO was “responsible for more deaths than Osama bin Laden.”
“I remember Americans celebrating when Osama bin Laden was killed,” she said.
Mamdani told reporters on Tuesday that “those three individuals should not have received press passes.”
“There is a good-natured debate to be had about where a press pass should extend and where it shouldn’t. However, the three people that we are talking about don’t fall within that debate,” he said.
Mangione has won support from some corners of the far-left for his alleged killing of Thompson, with some effectively calling it vengeance for the health insurance industry’s high costs and poor coverage options.
Backlash was swift once the women’s comments were shared across social media.
Journalist Miranda Devine asked, “Why are activist morons impersonating reporters?”
“I cannot believe they were issued press passes! Incredibly dangerous. And what exactly are their qualifications? We really need to stop treating influencers like journalists,” journalist Michele McPhee posted.
“NYC’s Mayor Marxist Mamdani granted these lunatic vile ‘Mangionistas’ press passes— emboldening their hate and violent rhetoric,” another critic added. “Great job, NY!”
The ordeal landed the trio on the Post’s front page.
Rios, whose Substack describes her as a “female rage encourager, abolitionist, and socialist fascism resister,” has defended her position.
“I am not a reporter, I work in social media which is also press,” Rios posted on Instagram.
When asked for additional comment, Rios — who said she was speaking on behalf of all three women — provided Fox News Digital with a statement suggesting “no amount of pressure or fearmongering is going to make me bow to our oppressors.”
“I have a platform and I intend to use it to speak about even the toughest truths. The fact of the matter, whether you want to face it or not, is that the healthcare lobby has continued to innovate—not in ways it can help people—but in ways that it can steal from us. I have zero remorse or sympathy for those capitalizing off of and relying on the deaths of the American people to put money in the pockets of the few,” Rios said.
“I’ve remained true to my beliefs for the last couple of years and this should be zero surprise to any person, group, or media outlet,” she continued. “Having opinions is not illegal, and neither is sharing them. I wish to see the day that more Americans come forward and are not afraid to speak on what I know many of them truly believe.”
Rojas and Weissbrot also spoke to the New York Daily News:
Mamdani’s office told The New York Times it was “reassessing the city’s process and standards for press credentialing.”
When asked for additional comment by Fox News Digital, Mamdani’s office noted that the process of issuing press credentials has not changed from past administrations. The NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) has “sole authority to issue press credentials on behalf of the city,” and MOME is only able to revoke or suspend a press badge after an OATH hearing, pending an OATH judge’s determination, meaning the office “has little flexibility in taking recourse.”
Many others took to X with thoughts:
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Weissbrot defended her statements to the Times.
“I know it’s a little inflammatory, but the American people are really mad about the health insurance industry,” she told the paper.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to all state and federal charges. His attorney has condemned “vile and irresponsible statements” from supporters.
Thompson, a father of two from Minnesota, had come to New York City to meet with Wall Street investors when he was murdered in December 2024. Surveillance video shows the last moments of his life — when a gunman approached him from behind on the sidewalk and opened fire.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz and Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
