Luigi Mangione was indicted Thursday on a federal murder charge in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a required step as prosecutors work to make good on the Trump administration’s order to seek the death penalty for what it called a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.”
Mangione’s indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in Manhattan, includes a charge of murder through use of a firearm, which carries the possibility of the death penalty. The indictment, which mirrors a criminal complaint brought after Mangione’s arrest last December, also charges him with stalking and a gun offence.
His lawyers have argued that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s announcement this month ordering prosecutors to seek the death penalty was a “political stunt” that corrupted the grand jury process and deprived him of his constitutional right to due process.
The 26-year-old Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family faces separate federal and state murder charges after authorities say he gunned down Thompson, 50, outside a Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4 as the executive arrived for UnitedHealthcare’s annual investor conference.
Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting Thompson from behind. 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, with some health insurers deleting photos of executives from their web sites and switching to online shareholder meetings. At the same time, some health insurance critics have rallied around Mangione as a stand-in for frustrations over coverage denials and hefty medical bills.
Fast-approaching deadline
Mangione’s federal indictment came just before a deadline Friday for prosecutors to either file one or seek a delay. It was not immediately clear when he will be brought to federal court in Manhattan for an arraignment.
A crowd of people, many supporters, flocked to a New York City courthouse, where Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and terrorism in the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
A message seeking comment was left for a spokesperson for Mangione’s defence team.
Bondi announced April 1 that she was directing federal prosecutors in Manhattan to seek the death penalty against Mangione. It was the first time the Justice Department said it was pursuing capital punishment since President Donald Trump returned to office Jan. 20 with a vow to resume federal executions after they were halted under the previous administration.
In her announcement, Bondi described Thompson’s killing as “an act of political violence.”
Mangione’s lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, countered in a subsequent court filing that “the United States government intends to kill Mr. Mangione as a political stunt.” She wants prosecutors blocked from seeking the death penalty.
Friedman Agnifilo and her co-counsel argued that Bondi’s announcement — which was followed by posts to her Instagram account and a television appearance — violated long-established Justice Department protocols and “indelibly prejudiced” the grand jury process that ultimately led to his indictment.
Mangione remains locked up at a federal jail in Brooklyn. His state charges carry a maximum punishment of life in prison.
Prosecutors have said the two cases will proceed on parallel tracks, with the state case expected to go to trial first.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Mangione’s indictment Thursday will change the order.
Mangione was arrested Dec. 9 in Altoona, Penn., about 370 kilometres west of New York City and whisked to Manhattan by plane and helicopter.
Police said Mangione had a 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 August 2024 that said “the target is insurance” because “it checks every box” and one from October that describes an intent to “wack” an insurance company CEO. UnitedHealthcare, the largest U.S. health insurer, has said Mangione was never a client.
Friedman Agnifilo has said she would seek to suppress some of the evidence.
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