Zohran Mamdani said three self-described “Mangionistas” should not have received city press passes after they praised the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan courthouse.
The mayor called the current credentialing approach “not” good policy and said City Hall will review an application process shifted from the NYPD after the 2020 George Floyd protests.
City Hall would not say when the three passes were issued; records cited by The Guardian show dozens of credentials tied to the Mangione trial, with about half granted before Mamdani took office.
The episode adds to complaints from City Hall reporters that credentials have become too easy to obtain, even as Mamdani has embraced influencers and other “new media” creators.
It also risks undercutting Mamdani’s effort to calm business leaders after earlier clashes with Citadel’s Ken Griffin and other CEOs over his tax-the-rich messaging.
With activists getting press passes to condemn a murdered CEO, could this trial become a verdict on the healthcare system?
Why did a state judge suppress key evidence against the accused that a federal judge ruled was admissible?