- Federal prosecutors will seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione, who allegedly shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in a premeditated attack. Attorney General Pam Bondi approved the decision as part of President Donald Trump’s renewed federal execution policy.
- The shooting happened in December 2024 outside a Manhattan hotel, where Thompson was attending a corporate event.
- Mangione allegedly planned the attack for months and expressed anti-insurance views in a notebook recovered after his arrest.
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Attorney General Pam Bondi directed federal prosecutors to pursue the death penalty against Luigi Mangione, who allegedly murdered UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel in December 2024. Bondi called the attack a “cold-blooded assassination” and said the decision aligns with President Donald Trump’s renewed push for federal capital punishment.
This marks the first time the Justice Department has pursued a death sentence since Trump returned to office and lifted the moratorium on federal executions. It is also Bondi’s first such directive since becoming attorney general in February.
What do we know about the victim and the crime?
Brian Thompson, 50, was a husband and father of two. He was ambushed while walking to an investor conference at the New York Hilton Midtown. Surveillance footage showed a masked gunman shooting him from behind.
Thompson had worked at UnitedHealth Group since 2004 and held multiple leadership roles, including chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, the largest health insurer in the country.
What are the charges against Luigi Mangione?
Mangione, 26, is an Ivy League graduate. He faces both state and federal charges, including federal counts of murder and stalking. The state case is expected to proceed first and does not carry the death penalty. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to the state charges. He has not yet entered a plea in federal court.
Authorities believe Mangione targeted the health insurance industry out of hostility. Prosecutors cite journal entries that detail plans to kill a health insurance executive as evidence of premeditation. Police arrested Mangione in Pennsylvania after a five-day search. Authorities recovered a 9mm handgun, a fake ID and a notebook they described as a manifesto.
What is the broader context of federal executions?
Trump oversaw 13 federal executions during his first term, the most of any modern U.S. president. Upon returning to office in 2025, he signed an executive order lifting the federal execution moratorium imposed under President Joe Biden.
If Mangione’s case proceeds to trial with capital punishment on the table, it could become the first death penalty prosecution of Trump’s second term.
