Prosecutor directs to seek death penalty against United Healthcare killing suspect Luigi Mangione
NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday she has directed federal prosecutors to sentence Luigi Mangione to death, a man accused of shooting death UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson was outside a hotel in New York City on December 4.
Mangione, 26, faces separate federal and state murders against the killings, which has disturbed the business community and has also sparked criticism from health insurance critics. Federal charges include murder by using a firearm that brings the possibility of death penalty. The state’s charges put the biggest punishment for life in prison.
Prosecutors say both cases will Perform on parallel tracksthe state’s allegations are expected to be tried first. It is not clear whether Bundy’s death penalty announcement will change the order to hear the case.
“Luigi Mangione murdered an innocent man, and the father of two, Brian Thompson, was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked the United States,” Bondy said in a statement. “After careful consideration, I directed federal prosecutors to seek death penalty in this case as we execute President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crimes and make America safe again.”
The information seeking comments was left to a spokesperson for Mangione’s attorney.
Mangione pleaded not guilty to the state indictment and did not plead guilty to federal charges.
President Donald Trump, who oversees unprecedented executions at the end of his first term, signed an executive order on January 20 that forced the Justice Department to sentence death in applicable federal cases.
His predecessor, Joe Biden, suspended federal executions.
Thompson, 50, was ambushed and shot on the sidewalk while attending an investor meeting at a hotel in Midtown Manhattan.
Mangione was arrested on December 9 while having breakfast at McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
Police say he is Carrying a gun This matches the one used in the shooting and the fake ID. Authorities said he also brought a notebook to express hostility to the health insurance industry, especially wealthy executives.
United Healthcare is the largest health insurer in the U.S., although the company said that Mangione was never a customer.
Prosecutors said the entry on the notebook was an August 2024 statement that read “The goal is insurance” because “it checked every box” and from October it described the intention of “fighting” the insurer’s CEO.
