The federal government is seeking the death penalty in the high-profile murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was gunned down in midtown Manhattan late last year in what authorities are calling a calculated assassination.
On Tuesday, Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced that federal prosecutors have been directed to pursue capital punishment against Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old accused of stalking and executing the health care executive just outside the New York Hilton Midtown on December 4, 2024.
“Mangione’s murder of Brian Thompson—an innocent man and father of two young children—was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America,” said Bondi in a statement. “As part of President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again, we will be seeking the death penalty.”
Mangione, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, is facing both federal and state-level prosecutions. On the federal side, he was indicted in December for stalking and murdering a federal employee. On the state level, he has been charged with first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism, a rare and serious charge in New York’s criminal code.
Thompson was in New York City attending his company’s annual investors’ meeting when he was shot multiple times on a busy Midtown street. Surveillance footage captured a masked gunman fleeing the scene on a bicycle, weaving into Central Park before vanishing.
A massive manhunt followed, drawing national attention. After five days on the run, Mangione was recognized by a customer at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and arrested on December 9.
Federal officials have not publicly discussed a motive, but the case is being prosecuted as both an act of targeted violence and a federal crime with terror-related implications.
While Mangione’s legal team has not commented on the DOJ’s push for the death penalty, the case is already drawing national attention as one of the most high-profile federal murder trials in recent years.
The UnitedHealthcare community, Wall Street, and the broader health care industry continue to mourn the loss of Thompson, who was widely respected as a leader and family man.
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