Luigi Mangione bloodthirsty superfans NYC-issued press passes draw outrage: Theyre not reporters theyre ghouls

Stop the press passes.A baffling decision by City Hall media officials to give three murder-minded Luigi Mangione fangirls press passes drew wide condemnation Monday.Exactly how the self-proclaimed “Mangionistas” were granted their city credentials was unclear, but critics blamed a reform shepherded under former Mayor Bill de Blasio that relaxed rules for handing out press credentials.“This is America — people have the freedom to say or write whatever awful, bats–t crazy things they want.But these deranged homicide-fan girls should never be allowed access to courtrooms or official press events with the imprimatur of the City of New York,” said David Carr (R-Staten Island), the City Council’s minority leader.“They aren’t reporters — they’re ghouls.”New York City press credentials — which help journalists cross police and fire lines, as well as attend certain government-sponsored events — had been long issued by the NYPD.But the responsibility was stripped from the NYPD after 2020’s protests over the murder of George Floyd, during which cops arrested several journalists.De Blasio backed a 2021 bill pushed by former city councilman and current state Assemblyman Keith Powers (D-Manhattan) that gave the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment the duty of issuing press passes.MOME officials eventually required press pass applicants to submit six or more articles, photos, videos or other media published or broadcast in the past two years.

The applicants’ submissions must also be in-person coverage of events, emergency and otherwise, in which the city set up barriers or restrictions such as police or fire lines.The vague rules seemingly let posts by “Mangionistas” Abril Rios, Ashley Rojas and Lena Weissbrot about attending court hearings for UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s alleged killer count toward press passes — issued to them this year by Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration.The decision to award press passes to the...