Activists Mark Luigi Mangione’s Birthday With Aerial Protest as Times Square Billboard on Jury Rights Explodes Online

Image by POPNYC

NEW YORK, May 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Two major public actions are unfolding in New York City this week to highlight systemic injustice in both the healthcare and criminal legal systems. Though independently organized, both coincide during the week of Luigi Mangione’s 27th birthday, whose prosecution has sparked widespread concern and mobilization.

On Saturday, May 10th, at approximately 12:45 PM, a plane organized by grassroots collective People Over Profit NYC (POPNYC) will fly over Battery Park toward the George Washington Bridge, towing a striking aerial message: “FREE HEALTHCARE. FREE LUIGI.”

A statement from the organization: “POPNYC is outraged at Attorney General Pam Bondi’s politicization of Luigi’s case and her calls for the death penalty,” said a spokesperson for the group. “Rather than denying him due process, our leaders should be confronting the real threat to Americans: profit-driven insurance companies that cost lives every day.”

At the same time, a separate and unrelated campaign by Citizens for Jury Empowerment has launched a digital billboard in Times Square to raise awareness about jury nullification-a constitutional right that allows jurors to acquit a defendant if they believe the law itself is unjust or wrongly applied.

While this campaign is not explicitly about Luigi Mangione or his case, it aims to spark a broader civil rights conversation about the power of conscience in the courtroom and the responsibility jurors have to uphold justice.

A photo of the billboard-highlighting the message “JURY NULLIFICATION IS WHEN JURORS VOTE TO ACQUIT, NOT JUST BASED ON THE LAW, BUT ON WHETHER THE APPLICATION OF THAT LAW TRULY SERVES JUSTICE.”-went viral on Reddit, earning over 94,000 upvotes and more than 2,000 comments, marking it as one of the platform’s most engaged political posts this week.

Running from May 5th to May 12th, the billboard campaign encourages jurors and the public alike to reflect on the role of civic resistance within the legal system.

While distinct in content and sponsorship, both actions reflect growing frustration with institutional systems that prioritize profit and punishment over justice, health, and dignity.

High-resolution images and footage of both actions are available upon request. For media inquiries, interviews, or press access.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/830a9f43-a5a8-4503-b4ec-579bf55c7814

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