BROOKLYN, N.Y. — January 29, 2026 — A Minnesota man was arrested Wednesday night after allegedly attempting to gain access to a New York federal jail claiming to be an FBI agent with a court order to release a man accused of murdering a UnitedHealthcare CEO.
A 36-year-old man from Minnesota was arrested after attempting to enter a federal detention center in Brooklyn, New York, claiming to be an FBI agent and possessing what authorities described as fabricated documents to release a man accused of murder.
- Mark Anderson, 36, of Mankato, Minnesota, was arrested at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
- Anderson allegedly claimed to be an FBI agent and possessed a court order for the release of Luigi Mangione, who is accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
- Authorities found a barbecue fork and a pizza cutter-like blade in Anderson’s bag.
Mark Anderson, 36, of Mankato, Minnesota, was arrested after he allegedly presented a Minnesota driver’s license as identification to Bureau of Prisons personnel at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn.
Anderson allegedly told personnel he had a court order authorizing the release of an inmate, later identified as Luigi Mangione, who is accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He also allegedly stated he had weapons in a bag he was carrying.
Inside the bag, authorities found a barbecue fork and a circular steel blade resembling a pizza cutter, according to the complaint. Anderson also displayed and threw numerous documents at the Bureau of Prisons officers, an FBI agent wrote in the complaint, noting the papers appeared to be related to claims against the U.S. Department of Justice.
Anderson is charged with impersonating an FBI agent and is scheduled to be presented in Brooklyn federal court Thursday afternoon. A person in law enforcement confirmed to CNBC that Mangione was the inmate Anderson allegedly attempted to free.
According to that source, Anderson traveled to New York City for a job opportunity that did not materialize and had been working in a pizzeria.
The arrest came hours after state prosecutors in Manhattan Supreme Court urged a judge to set Mangione’s murder trial for July. Jury selection in the Manhattan federal court case where Mangione is also charged with crimes related to Thompson’s death is scheduled to begin two months prior.
Prosecutors allege Mangione stalked and fatally shot Thompson on December 4, 2024, as the CEO was entering a midtown Manhattan hotel for an investors’ event. Mangione was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty in both cases. Federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty if he is convicted in the federal case, and a judge could rule this week on whether that sentence will be considered.
Time.news based this report in part on reporting by CNBC and added independent analysis and context.
