U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Tuesday that federal prosecutors will seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in what authorities described as a "premeditated, cold-blooded assassination."
Mangione faces separate federal and state murder charges in connection with the December killing. The federal charges include murder through the use of a firearm, which carries a potential death sentence, while the state charges carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Prosecutors said the cases will proceed simultaneously, with the state trial expected to begin first. It remains unclear whether Bondi’s announcement will alter the trial schedule.
“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,” Bondi said in a statement. “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.”
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state charges but has not yet entered a plea in the federal case.
Details of the Case
Thompson, 50, was shot dead on December 4 while walking to an investor conference at a Manhattan hotel. Following a nationwide manhunt, police arrested Mangione weeks later in Pennsylvania. Authorities said he was carrying a firearm matching the weapon used in the shooting, a fake ID, and a notebook expressing hostility toward the health insurance industry—particularly wealthy executives.
UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest health insurer, confirmed Mangione was never a client.
President Donald Trump, who oversaw a historic number of federal executions at the end of his first term, signed an executive order on January 20—his first day back in office—mandating that the Justice Department pursue the death penalty in eligible federal cases.
Mangione is currently detained in a New York federal prison awaiting trial. If convicted on all charges, he would face a mandatory life sentence without parole.