In December 2024, a photo rapidly spread online allegedly showing an official mug shot of Luigi Mangione, the suspect who allegedly fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson earlier that month on Dec. 4.
The picture was posted on multiple platforms, such as X, Instagram, Facebook and Reddit, with many captions claiming it was Mangione's "official mug shot." Dozens of news outlets also published the photo.
Indeed, the picture is genuine and does show Mangione. The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections posted it on X with the caption "Booking photo of Luigi Mangione (QQ7787)."
Booking photo of Luigi Mangione (QQ7787): https://t.co/5VIC4r4s0T pic.twitter.com/XKmJhxTl9V
— PA Department of Corrections (@CorrectionsPA) December 10, 2024
However, the photo was not the only mug shot taken of the suspect. Several other pictures that the police took, including one of him wearing an orange suit, one of him standing in a cell and one of him wearing a jacket, also spread online. Although the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections described the photo in question as a "booking photo," there is no significant difference between a booking photo and a mug shot.
All of these pictures are mug shots. For example, the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines "mug shot" as:
a photograph of usually a person's head and especially face
specifically : a police photograph of a suspect's face or profile
The picture attached to his official inmate details file on the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections website shows him dressed in the orange suit.
(Pennsylvania Department of Corrections)
(Getty Images)
In sum, because the photo of Mangione is authentic and the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections released the picture on its official X account, we have rated this claim as true.