Luigi Mangione Is Indicted on Federal Murder Charges Which Could Lead to the Death Penalty, Already Faces State Charges

A federal grand jury has indicted the Ivy League graduate, Luigi Mangione, for allegedly gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a street in midtown Manhattan last December. The federal charges are on top of state murder charges the Ivy League graduate is already facing.The federal indictment, which came down Thursday evening, charges Mr. Mangione with two counts of interstate stalking, one count of murder through use of a firearm and a firearms offense for allegedly having used a silencer. The charges are designed to make Mr. Mangione, if convicted, eligible for the death penalty. Mr. Mangione, a tech enthusiast who comes from an influential real estate family in Towson, Maryland, outside Baltimore, and was his high school’s valedictorian before earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Pennsylvania, faces charges in three separate jurisdictions for allegedly killing Mr. Thompson. The victim, a Minnesota father of two, was a senior executive at the UnitedHealth Group, the country’s largest health insurance company that, like other big health insurers, has come under criticism for how it handles claims from its members. Mr. Thompson was visiting New York on business on December 4, and was on his way to an investor conference in the morning, when Mr. Mangione allegedly shot him from behind on a midtown sidewalk, in front of the New York Hilton.Luigi Mangione listens to his attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo at a hearing for the murder of UHC CEO Brian Thompson at Manhattan Criminal Court on February 21, 2025 in New York City. Curtis Means – Pool/Getty ImagesAfter a five-day manhunt, during which surveillance pictures of the alleged murderer were circulated on national media and flooded the internet, Mr. Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where an employee called the police after a customer had recognized the young man, who had removed his face mask to eat.According to police reports, Mr. Mangione carried a 9-millimeter 3D-printed handgun, two ammunition magazines, multiple live cartridges, a homemade silencer, and a fake New Jersey drivers license, which he is believed to have used to check into a hostel in Manhattan’s Bloomingdale neighborhood where he stayed before the killing.The suspect was extradited to New York in late December. In addition to the federal and state murder charges in New York, Mr. Mangione also faces gun possession and other charges in Pennsylvania. The New York state murder case, brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, includes charges of murder in the first-degree, the most serious homicide offense in the state, which is punishable by 20 years to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Mr. Mangione pleaded not guilty to all state charges in Pennsylvania and in New York. The murdered UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was a father of two who lived in a Minneapolis suburb. UnitedHealthcareFederal and state prosecutors agreed that the state case would go to trial first. However, on April 1, President Trump’s attorney general, Pam Bondi, released a statement saying she would seek the death penalty for Mr. Mangione. “Luigi Mangione’s murder of Brian Thompson — an innocent man and father of two young children — was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America. After careful consideration, I have directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case as we carry out President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again,” Ms. Bondi’s statement read. Shortly after, defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo filed a motion asking the federal court to block the Justice Department from seeking the death penalty, arguing that the attorney general’s public comments had violated Mr. Mangione due process rights, did not follow proper legal protocol, and prejudiced the jury pool. Ms. Agnifilo went so far as to call Ms. Bondi’s statement a “political stunt.”Mr. Mangione is scheduled to appear in federal court on April 18. It was not immediately clear if the defendant will in fact be arraigned on Friday, and enter his plea. A message seeking comment from his attorneys was left unanswered.

Luigi Mangione Is Indicted on Federal Murder Charges Which Could Lead to the Death Penalty, Already Faces State Charges

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