A Minnesota man was arrested Wednesday night in New York after impersonating an FBI agent in a bid to free Luigi Mangione from jail, according to a law enforcement source and a federal criminal complaint.
Mark Anderson, 36, of Mankato, arrived at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn at 6:50 p.m. He claimed he was an FBI agent and had paperwork “signed by a judge” that allowed him to free Mangione, the complaint says.
Mangione is accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street in December 2024. Mangione, who has amassed a national following of supporters, is charged with murder and may face the death penalty.
Anderson showed prison officials his Minnesota drivers license when asked for identification. He said he had weapons and started throwing papers around the room, the complaint says.
When Anderson was later searched, Bureau of Prisons agents found a pizza cutter and a “large barbeque-type fork,” the complaint said. Anderson had recently been working at a pizza shop in the Bronx, according to the law enforcement source.
According to court records across two states, Anderson has a history of drug offenses and mental health troubles.
In 2021, he was civilly committed for six months, according to court records in Houston County, Minnesota. Anderson had been diagnosed with a psychotic disorder, records said, which severely impaired his “judgment, behavior, and capacity to recognize reality or to reason or understand.”
A law enforcement source said Anderson had travelled to New York for a job opportunity that did not pan out.
