Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty to federal death penalty charge in
UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killing
[April 26, 2025]
By MICHAEL R. SISAK
NEW YORK (AP) — Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty Friday to a federal
murder charge in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Prosecutors formally declared their intent to seek the death penalty,
and the judge warned Justice Department officials to refrain from making
public comments that could spoil his right to a fair trial.
Mangione, 26, stood between his lawyers and leaned toward a tabletop
microphone as he entered the plea in Manhattan federal court. He
responded “yes” when U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett asked if he
understood the indictment that charges him with gunning down Thompson
outside a midtown hotel last December.
Asked how he wished to plead, Mangione said simply “not guilty” and sat
down.
A cause célèbre for people upset with the health insurance industry,
Mangione’s federal arraignment drew dozens of people to court, including
former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, who served prison time
for stealing classified diplomatic cables.
Some lined up for hours in front of the courthouse steps, trying to snag
a seat inside. Others rallied across the street as a pair of advertising
trucks drove around playing videos denouncing the health insurance
industry and the death penalty.
Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate
family, faces separate murders in federal and state court, where he
faces a maximum punishment of life in prison.
Prosecutors had expected the state case go to trial first, but
Mangione’s lawyers said Friday that they want the federal case to take
precedent because it involves the death penalty. Because of the many
legal issues involved in capital cases, Mangione’s federal case will
move at a slower pace than non-death penalty prosecutions.
Mangione is next due in federal court on Dec. 5, a day after the
one-year anniversary of Thompson’s death. His next appearance in the
state case is set for June 26. No trial date has been set in either
case.
Mangione, held in a federal jail in Brooklyn since his arrest, arrived
to court Friday in a mustard-colored jail suit and chatted with one of
his lawyers, death penalty counsel Avi Moskowitz, as they waited for the
arraignment to begin.
Late Thursday night, federal prosecutors filed a required notice of
their intent to seek the death penalty. That came weeks after U.S.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that she would be directing federal
prosecutors to seek the death penalty for what she called “an act of
political violence" and a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that
shocked America.”
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Luigi Mangione , accused of fatally shooting the UnitedHealthcare
CEO Brian Thompson in New York City and leading authorities on a
five-day search is scheduled, appears in court for a hearing,
Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, in New York. (Steven Hirsch/New York Post via
AP, Pool, File)
It was the first time the Justice Department said it was pursuing
capital punishment since President Donald Trump returned to the
White House on Jan. 20 with a vow to resume federal executions after
they were halted under the previous administration.
Mangione’s lawyers argue that Bondi’s announcement — which she
followed with posts on Instagram account and a TV appearance — was a
“political stunt” that violated long-established Justice Department
protocols, corrupted the grand jury process and deprived him of his
constitutional right to due process.
After Mangione lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo raised the issue again
on Friday, Garnett instructed federal prosecutors to convey to Bondi
and other Justice Department officials that court rules prohibit any
pretrial publicity that could interfere with a defendant’s right to
a fair trial.
Mangione’s federal indictment includes a charge of murder through
use of a firearm, which carries the possibility of the death
penalty. The indictment also charges him with stalking and a gun
offense.
Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting Thompson from
behind as the executive arrived for UnitedHealthcare’s annual
investor conference. Police say the words “delay,” “deny” and
“depose” were scrawled on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase
commonly used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.
The killing and ensuing five-day search leading to Mangione’s arrest
rattled the business community while galvanizing health insurance
critics who rallied around Mangione as a stand-in for frustrations
over coverage denials and hefty bills.
Mangione was arrested Dec. 9 in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230
miles (about 370 kilometers) west of New York City and whisked to
Manhattan by plane and helicopter.
Police said Mangione had a 9mm handgun that matched the one used in
the shooting and other items including a notebook in which they say
he expressed hostility toward the health insurance industry and
wealthy executives.
Among the entries, prosecutors said, was one from last August that
said “the target is insurance” because “it checks every box” and one
from October that describes an intent to “wack” an insurance CEO.
UnitedHealthcare, the largest U.S. health insurer, has said Mangione
was never a client.
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