Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty as feds pursue death penalty in high-profile murder of Health CEO
Pranjal Chandra | Apr 25, 2025, 23:34 IST
( Image credit : AP )
Luigi Mangione denied charges in the Brian Thompson murder case. Thompson was UnitedHealthcare CEO. The incident happened in December 2024. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Mangione is accused of stalking and killing Thompson. The motive was allegedly political. He was arrested in Pennsylvania. The trial is set for December 5, 2025. The case raises questions about violence and accountability.
In a case that has shaken both the corporate and legal worlds, Luigi Mangione, 26, pleaded not guilty on Friday to federal charges of stalking and murder in connection with the December 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Prosecutors allege Mangione executed the healthcare executive in cold blood on a Manhattan sidewalk, an act they claim was politically motivated and calculated to send a chilling message.
Mangione appeared in Manhattan federal court dressed in mustard-colored prison attire over a white thermal shirt, noticeably transformed since his arrest, with shorter hair and a quiet demeanor. He spoke only in one-word replies as U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett formally asked him to enter a plea. "Not guilty," he said firmly, as courtroom observers including former U.S. Army analyst and whistleblower Chelsea Manning watched in tense silence.
Federal prosecutors, who last week secured a grand jury indictment on four serious charges, are taking the unprecedented step of seeking the death penalty a rare move in a federal case in New York. The charges include two counts of interstate stalking, one count of murder with a firearm, and one firearms charge related to Mangione's alleged use of a silencer.
The motive, prosecutors allege, goes beyond personal grievance. In a chilling court filing, they claim Mangione viewed the killing as a way to galvanize opposition against the healthcare industry. According to the Justice Department’s notice of intent to seek capital punishment, Mangione presents "a future danger" because he showed intent "to provoke broad-based resistance to the healthcare industry by engaging in an act of lethal violence."
The document also details how he evaded arrest by fleeing New York City immediately after the crime. Mangione was apprehended five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, armed with what investigators say was a privately made firearm and a silencer both unregistered and illegal.
The shooting occurred on December 4, 2024, outside a Manhattan hotel where Thompson was attending an investors' conference. Surveillance footage and eyewitnesses place Mangione at the scene. Prosecutors say he approached the healthcare CEO from behind and fired two rounds at close range. The bullets were silent, and Thompson collapsed instantly. Nearby, investigators recovered two shell casings each etched with the words “deny,” “depose,” and “delay,” language prosecutors interpret as ideologically charged.
Federal officials claim the attack was premeditated and symbolic. Mangione had reportedly been surveilling Thompson in the days leading up to the killing and had researched corporate targets online. These actions, prosecutors say, paint a picture of an individual driven by a calculated political agenda, not random violence.
Defense attorney Karen Agnifilo raised a concern during the court proceedings that a privileged call between her and Mangione had been inadvertently accessed, prompting Judge Garnett to order a full review and update from federal prosecutors by the next court date, set for December 5, 2025.
In addition to the federal charges, Mangione also faces a slew of state charges in both New York and Pennsylvania, including first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism, weapons possession, and the use of forged documents. He has entered not guilty pleas to all charges.
So far, Mangione's legal team has not issued a formal statement on the government’s pursuit of the death penalty, nor have they commented on the alleged ideological motivations ascribed to their client.
Attorney General Pam Bondi personally authorized the federal death penalty filing earlier this month, a signal of how seriously the Justice Department is treating this case. If convicted, Mangione could become one of the few individuals in modern U.S. history to receive a federal death sentence for an ideologically driven killing outside the scope of traditional terrorism laws.
As the nation watches this case unfold, the trial promises to raise complex questions about violence, industry accountability, and the boundaries between protest and terrorism.
Mangione appeared in Manhattan federal court dressed in mustard-colored prison attire over a white thermal shirt, noticeably transformed since his arrest, with shorter hair and a quiet demeanor. He spoke only in one-word replies as U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett formally asked him to enter a plea. "Not guilty," he said firmly, as courtroom observers including former U.S. Army analyst and whistleblower Chelsea Manning watched in tense silence.
Federal prosecutors, who last week secured a grand jury indictment on four serious charges, are taking the unprecedented step of seeking the death penalty a rare move in a federal case in New York. The charges include two counts of interstate stalking, one count of murder with a firearm, and one firearms charge related to Mangione's alleged use of a silencer.
The motive, prosecutors allege, goes beyond personal grievance. In a chilling court filing, they claim Mangione viewed the killing as a way to galvanize opposition against the healthcare industry. According to the Justice Department’s notice of intent to seek capital punishment, Mangione presents "a future danger" because he showed intent "to provoke broad-based resistance to the healthcare industry by engaging in an act of lethal violence."
The document also details how he evaded arrest by fleeing New York City immediately after the crime. Mangione was apprehended five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, armed with what investigators say was a privately made firearm and a silencer both unregistered and illegal.
The shooting occurred on December 4, 2024, outside a Manhattan hotel where Thompson was attending an investors' conference. Surveillance footage and eyewitnesses place Mangione at the scene. Prosecutors say he approached the healthcare CEO from behind and fired two rounds at close range. The bullets were silent, and Thompson collapsed instantly. Nearby, investigators recovered two shell casings each etched with the words “deny,” “depose,” and “delay,” language prosecutors interpret as ideologically charged.
Federal officials claim the attack was premeditated and symbolic. Mangione had reportedly been surveilling Thompson in the days leading up to the killing and had researched corporate targets online. These actions, prosecutors say, paint a picture of an individual driven by a calculated political agenda, not random violence.
Defense attorney Karen Agnifilo raised a concern during the court proceedings that a privileged call between her and Mangione had been inadvertently accessed, prompting Judge Garnett to order a full review and update from federal prosecutors by the next court date, set for December 5, 2025.
In addition to the federal charges, Mangione also faces a slew of state charges in both New York and Pennsylvania, including first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism, weapons possession, and the use of forged documents. He has entered not guilty pleas to all charges.
So far, Mangione's legal team has not issued a formal statement on the government’s pursuit of the death penalty, nor have they commented on the alleged ideological motivations ascribed to their client.
Attorney General Pam Bondi personally authorized the federal death penalty filing earlier this month, a signal of how seriously the Justice Department is treating this case. If convicted, Mangione could become one of the few individuals in modern U.S. history to receive a federal death sentence for an ideologically driven killing outside the scope of traditional terrorism laws.
As the nation watches this case unfold, the trial promises to raise complex questions about violence, industry accountability, and the boundaries between protest and terrorism.