U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Tuesday that she has directed federal prosecutors to pursue the death penalty against Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel on December 4th.
Mangione, 26, faces both federal and state murder charges related to the killing. The federal charges include murder through the use of a firearm, a charge that carries the possibility of a death sentence.
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“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.”
Prosecutors have stated that Mangione had a spiral notebook containing entries expressing hostility toward the health insurance industry and wealthy executives. UnitedHealthcare, the largest health insurer in the U.S., confirmed that Mangione was never a client of the company.
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The notebook entries, according to the complaint, included one from August 2024 stating “the target is insurance” because “it checks every box,” and another from October outlining an intent to “wack” an insurance company CEO.
The maximum punishment for the state charges against Mangione is life in prison. He has pleaded not guilty to the state indictment and has not yet entered a plea to the federal charges.
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