US prosecutors officially confirmed on Thursday they will pursue the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson in New York last year, citing the 26-year-old’s stated intent to target the health insurance industry through violence.
Mangione is scheduled to appear in Manhattan federal court on Friday for arraignment. He has pleaded not guilty to a separate state indictment related to the December 2024 murder of Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealth Group’s insurance division.
While public officials condemned the high-profile killing, some members of the public have portrayed Mangione as a vigilante who brought attention to rising US healthcare costs and the role of insurers in denying treatment payments.
In their Thursday filing, prosecutors argued that Mangione poses a continued threat, stating he “presents a future danger because he expressed an intent to target an entire industry… by engaging in an act of lethal violence.”
The move formalises Attorney General Pam Bondi’s earlier announcement that the Justice Department would seek the death penalty in the case.
Mangione’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment but have previously criticised Bondi’s announcement, calling it “unapologetically political” and alleging it breached government protocols.
If convicted, a federal jury would decide in a separate sentencing phase whether to recommend the death penalty. The recommendation would have to be unanimous, and the presiding judge would then be legally required to impose it.
Thompson was shot dead on December 4 outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel during a UnitedHealth investor event. The murder sparked a five-day manhunt and widespread media coverage.
Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where police found him with a 9mm pistol fitted with a silencer, clothing that matched surveillance footage, and a notebook allegedly detailing plans to assassinate a healthcare CEO.
He remains in federal custody at a facility in Brooklyn.
