The 26-year-old may face the death penalty for the alleged murder
A federal grand jury in New York has indicted Luigi Mangione on two counts of stalking, a firearms offense, and murder via use of a firearm. The murder charge would make Mangione eligible for the death penalty if convicted.
Attorney General Pam Bondi directed prosecutors to seek the death penalty against Mangione earlier this month after the 26-year-old was charged with murdering United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December. Mangione’s legal team, led by Karen Friedman Agnifilo, responded in a statement, calling the decision “barbaric.”
“While claiming to protect against murder, the federal government moves to commit the premeditated, state-sponsored murder of Luigi,” said Friedman Agnifilo at the time. “By doing this, they are defending the broken, immoral, and murderous healthcare industry that continues to terrorize the American people. We are prepared to fight these federal charges, brought by a lawless Justice Department, as well as the New York State charges, and the Pennsylvania charges, and anything else they want to pile on Luigi.”
Mangione is currently being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. He is the lead suspect in the murder of Thompson, which occurred on Dec. 4. In December, Mangione pleaded not guilty to state murder and terror charges. He is facing federal charges for second-degree murder as well as weapons charges, but has not been asked to enter a plea. Mangione is also facing state charges in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where he was arrested.
“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.”