Drain the Swamp · NYC · May 18, 2026City Hall

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NYC City Hall Gave Press Credentials to the “Mangionistas” — Then Asked Them to Cover the Hearing.

The 30-second summary — May 18, 2026

The credentials. The NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) — the city agency that has issued press credentials since former Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) moved the function out of NYPD in 2021 — issued city press passes to three Luigi Mangione fans who run a small social-media presence under the handle “The Mangionistas.”

The three credentialed fans. Ashley Rojas (Substack writer), Lena Weissbrot (2015 Fulbright fellow), and Abril Rios (model / blogger). Combined social-media following: ~400 across Instagram and TikTok. They do not work for any publication.

What they said on camera May 18. Outside the Manhattan Criminal Courts building after a Mangione evidentiary hearing, the three were interviewed on camera by reporters including the NY Daily News’s Molly Crane-Newman. Rojas, verbatim: “F— Brian Thompson. I don’t give a flying f— he died.” Weissbrot, verbatim: “Brian Thompson was a terrorist. His children are better off without him… enjoy the blood money, kids.” She added: “He’s responsible for more deaths than Osama bin Laden.” And: “I liked it.”

The reform that didn’t happen. Former Mayor Eric Adams (D-NYC), before leaving office in December 2025, proposed tightening MOME’s credentialing standards. Incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D-Socialist, NYC) — sworn in January 1, 2026 — scrapped Adams’s reform, characterizing the proposed vetting as an “attack on the press.” The Mangionistas were credentialed under Mamdani’s reverted policy.

The City Hall response. Mamdani spokeswoman Dora Pekec: “The Mamdani administration is reassessing the city’s process and standards for press credentialing.” Former Mayor Adams, on X: “That decision was reckless. Official press credentials should not be handed out in a way that allows extremists to abuse them while hiding behind the credibility and protections afforded to legitimate journalism.” Council Minority Leader David Carr (R-Staten Island): “They’re not reporters — they’re ghouls.”

The City of New York issued official press credentials — the kind that grant access to police lines, courthouse press benches, and City Hall briefing rooms — to three women who run a small Luigi Mangione fan account, and then watched on Monday, May 18, as those women stood in front of cameras outside the Manhattan Criminal Courts building and called the man Mangione is accused of murdering, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a “terrorist” whose children “are better off without him.”

The credentials were issued by the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, the agency that took over press credentialing in 2021 under former Mayor Bill de Blasio (D), moving the function out of NYPD’s Public Information Office under a “creative economy / accessibility” framing that broadened eligibility to TikTok and Substack creators with much lighter vetting than the prior policy. Former Mayor Eric Adams (D) proposed a tightening of standards in late 2025; incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D-Socialist), sworn in on New Year’s Day 2026, scrapped the Adams reform within weeks, framing increased vetting as an “attack on the press.”

The Washington Free Beacon, whose reporter Chuck Ross broke the story, frames the “F— Brian Thompson, I don’t give a flying f— he died” quote in the headline. The quote belongs to Ashley Rojas, one of the three credentialed fans. The federal government’s position on the underlying killing is that it is a death-penalty case — AG Pam Bondi (R) authorized the federal capital prosecution against Mangione in 2025. The federal trial is set for October 13, 2026; the state trial begins September 8 or 9.

“F— Brian Thompson. I don't give a flying f— he died.”

Ashley Rojas — one of the three NYC-credentialed Mangione fans, on camera May 18, 2026

“Brian Thompson was a terrorist. His children are better off without him… enjoy the blood money, kids.”

Lena Weissbrot — NYC-credentialed Mangione fan, on camera May 18, 2026

Weissbrot also told reporters Thompson was “responsible for more deaths than Osama bin Laden” and, of the killing itself, “I liked it.” The remarks were captured by multiple reporters on scene including Molly Crane-Newman of the NY Daily News. None of the three fans works for any publication; they run a combined social-media presence (Instagram, TikTok, an online merch shop) that, per Newsweek, totals roughly 400 followers.

• Mayor of NYC: Zohran Mamdani (D-Democratic Socialists of America), sworn in January 1, 2026. 112th mayor; first Muslim, first South Asian. Scrapped the Adams credential-reform proposal in January 2026.
• Former Mayor (Dec 31, 2025): Eric Adams (D). Proposed tightening MOME’s credentialing process before leaving office. Has publicly criticized the credentialing of the Mangionistas on X.
• Former Mayor (Dec 31, 2021): Bill de Blasio (D). Moved press credentialing from NYPD to MOME in 2021 under a creative-economy / accessibility framing — the policy decision under which the Mangionistas were eventually credentialed.
• NYC MOME Commissioner: Samer Nasser. (Mayor-appointed.)
• NYPD Commissioner: Jessica Tisch. (Held over from Adams administration by Mamdani in January 2026.)
• Manhattan District Attorney: Alvin Bragg (D) — prosecuting the state murder case against Mangione.
• Council Minority Leader: David Carr (R-Staten Island) — coined the “they’re ghouls” framing.

NYC’s press-credentialing policy has moved through three regimes in five years:

• Pre-2021: NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner for Public Information (DCPI) ran press credentialing. Standard: documented professional-journalist association with a recognized news organization.
• 2021 (de Blasio): Credentialing moved to MOME under a “creative economy / accessibility” framing. Eligibility broadened to TikTok, Instagram, Substack, and other “new media” creators. Vetting lightened.
• Late 2025 (Adams): Proposed reform to add disqualification criteria for credential holders who advocate violence or threaten covered officials.
• January 2026 (Mamdani): Scrapped Adams’s reform. Characterized the proposed tightening as an “attack on the press.”
• May 18, 2026: The Mangionistas appear at the Manhattan Criminal Courts building with MOME-issued credentials around their necks.
• May 18–19, 2026: Mamdani spokeswoman Pekec: the administration is “reassessing the city’s process and standards.”

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed outside the New York Hilton Midtown on December 4, 2024. Luigi Mangione, then 26, was arrested in Altoona, PA on December 9, 2024, after a McDonald’s employee identified him from a wanted poster. He has been charged in both Manhattan state court and SDNY federal court. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The federal case is a death-penalty prosecution authorized by AG Pam Bondi (R). State trial: September 8 or 9, 2026, Justice Gregory Carro presiding. Federal trial: October 13, 2026, SDNY.

The on-camera remarks by the credentialed fans — calling Thompson a “terrorist,” calling his children “better off without him,” saying of his murder “I liked it” — are their characterizations. We do not adopt them. Mangione is, on this page’s editorial record, “the accused.” Thompson is “the victim,” and his murder is “the killing.”

• When were the credentials issued? The Free Beacon piece says May 18 was “the first time they have been given press credentials” (i.e., the first time observed using them publicly); the actual issuance date is NOT disclosed.
• Which prior events did they cover? NOT disclosed by City Hall or MOME.
• Will the credentials be revoked? Spokeswoman Pekec said the administration is “reassessing”; no revocation has been announced as of publication.
• Did the MOME vetting process flag the Mangionistas’ existing public Mangione-fan content? NOT addressed in City Hall’s public response.
• Are any other credentialed press holders in similar “new media” categories? NOT disclosed; the MOME credential rolls are not public-facing.

The accountability question raised by the case isn’t whether journalists should be allowed strong opinions — that’s the First Amendment. The question is whether the city’s official press-credentialing process, which grants restricted-area access to events including court hearings about murder cases, can responsibly be administered without a vetting step strong enough to flag publicly-celebrating-the-murder content. Three consecutive Democratic NYC mayors made decisions about that vetting step. The current Mayor’s decision was to remove it. The Mangionistas at the courthouse on May 18 are the consequence of that policy choice.

Two pieces of on-camera coverage of the May 18 fangirl exchange. The NY Post carries the verbatim quotes that triggered the credentialing controversy. Sky News Australia’s commentary on the international reception of the credentialing is the cleanest standalone framing.