The New York City Council is moving to reform the city’s press credentialing system following the trial of Luigi Mangione after supporters of the accused killer obtained press credentials and advocated for him outside the courthouse.
Council Speaker Julie Menin introduced legislation this week to make it easier for the city to suspend or revoke press credentials of people who use them to gain access behind police lines, at City Hall, and inside courthouses.
“For this system to work as intended, there must be a thoughtful process for issuing credentials and, when necessary, revoking them,” Menin said in a statement. “We’re committed to ensuring a process that balances real logistical, safety, and journalistic concerns. Our only goal here is to help journalists do their critical work, in good times and bad.”
The legislation comes after supporters of Mangione, who have dubbed themselves “Mangionistas,” appeared outside his Manhattan trial with city-issued press credentials. Some used their access to publicly advocate for Mangione, who is accused of killing United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
One credentialed influencer, Lena Weissbrot, told reporters in May that she submitted six pieces of personal reporting from hearings she attended as part of her application for a press card.
At the trial, Weissbrot said Thompson was “responsible for more deaths than Osama bin Laden” and that Thompson’s children were “better off without him.”
Menin said in an interview with Fox 5 that the legislation was intended to “solve the problem of the Luigi Mangione fangirl.”
“These fangirls, who are not journalists, are showing up at the trial with press credentials that the City of New York is giving to them,” Menin said.
The bill, sponsored by Councilman Chris Banks, would not change the basic requirements for obtaining a press credential. Instead, it would require the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, which administers the system, to review its rules governing applications and revocations.
Applicants for a standard press card currently must submit at least six articles, commentaries, books, photographs, videos, films, or audio pieces published or broadcast within the previous 24 months. The work must demonstrate in-person coverage of events in New York City.
Banks said recent events have “highlighted the importance of maintaining clear standards and accountability within the credentialing process.”
“There have been instances where individuals claiming to act as members of the press have inserted themselves into proceedings not to report the news, but to advocate for a particular position and/or disrupt public events and press conferences,” Banks said.
The city previously issued press credentials through the New York Police Department, but a 2022 law transferred that authority to the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment.
Under the current system, the city cannot revoke a press credential without a hearing before the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings. The proposed legislation would lower the evidentiary standard for suspending or revoking a credential following such a hearing.
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office said it is reviewing the legislation.
“As the mayor said earlier this year, we support reforms to the credentialing process,” spokeswoman Dora Pekec said in a statement.