Topline
A federal grand jury issued a four-count indictment against Luigi Mangione on Thursday, levying charges on the 26-year-old accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York last year that Attorney General Pam Bondi has said will lead prosecutors to seek the death penalty if he is convicted.
The indictment was returned Thursday. (Photo by XNY/Star Max/GC Images)
Key Facts
The indictment charges Mangione with murder through use of a firearm, two counts of stalking and a firearms offense, ABC News reported.
Bondi recently pushed prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Mangione as part of a larger effort to "carry out President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again."
One of Mangione’s attorneys, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said in a filing that Bondi’s statement “prejudiced the grand jury pool” and “corrupted the grand jury process,” adding the government intends to kill Mangione “as a political stunt.”
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to 11 of his state charges in New York, including one count of first-degree murder in furtherance of an act of terrorism.
The Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office said in December that Mangione’s state case was “expected to proceed to trial before the federal case.”
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Tangent
There were 25 death penalty executions across nine states in 2024, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit. Bondi in February lifted the moratorium on federal executions adopted by former Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Key Background
Mangione is the suspected killer of Thompson, who was shot outside of a New York City hotel while on the way to a UnitedHealthcare investor meeting. A days-long manhunt began for Mangione, who was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, five days after the shooting. Local police said they found fraudulent IDs, a passport and a firearm similar to the one used in the murder of Thompson. A handwritten document that spoke to Mangione’s “motivation and mindset” was also found. Mangione pleaded not guilty to his state charges in late December and has since been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Further Reading
Attorney General Bondi Calls For Death Penalty Against Luigi Mangione (Forbes)
What We Know About Luigi Mangione: Suspected CEO Shooter Pleads Not Guilty In New York (Forbes)
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