A lawyer for the New York man who was charged with killing an alleged mob boss reportedly says he did so to help President Donald Trump.

The New York Times reported that an attorney for Anthony Comello wrote in new filings that Comello was consumed by online conspiracy theories, specifically QAnon, which baselessly posits the existence of a "deep state," or a secret and powerful network of people in the highest ranks in society, business, and politics.

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A lawyer for the New York man who was charged with killing an alleged mob boss reportedly says he did so to help President Donald Trump.

Anthony Comello, 24, was motivated by baseless conspiracy theories when he shot Francesco Cali, a leader in the Gambino crime family, 10 times outside Cali's home in March, his attorney Robert C. Gottlieb said in new filings, according to the Times.

"Mr. Comello became certain that he was enjoying the protection of President Trump himself, and that he had the president's full support," Mr. Gottlieb reportedly wrote.

Cali's death marked the highest-profile mob killing in decades, and reportedly sparked concerns among law enforcement that it meant renewed violence among New York's five major mob families.

But Gottlieb reportedly painted a different picture in the filings, writing that Comello was not affiliated with the Mafia, but had been consumed by the QAnon Conspiracy theory, which partly promotes the baseless idea that Trump is secretly working against a powerful network of pedophiles that are among the highest ranks in society, business, and politics.

"Mr. Comello's support for 'QAnon' went beyond mere participation in a radical political organization," Gottlieb wrote. "It evolved into a delusional obsession."

On the day of Cali's death, the Times reports Comello had gone to his house to make a citizens arrest based on the belief that he was a part of this network. However, Cali refused and reached for his waistband, which caused Comello to shoot the alleged boss in self-defense.

Before Gottlieb's reported comment, it wasn't immediately clear why Comello had targeted Cali.

The Associated Press reported in March that Comello held up his hand while in court for a hearing in New Jersey to reveal slogans supporting President Donald Trump, including a riff on his "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan that read "MAGA Forever," that had been scrawled on his palm. The messages surrounded what appeared to be a "Q" in the center of his palm.

When one of his attorneys was reportedly asked what was on Comello's hand, they replied: "Handcuffs."

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