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The federal government wil seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione in relation to the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced in a statement obtained by the New York Post on Tuesday (April 1).
“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 wrote in a statement. “After careful consideration, I have directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case as we carry out President [Donald] Trump's agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again.”
Mangione, 26, faces one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder in relation to the killing of Thompson in Manhattan on December 4, as well as other weapon and forgery charges stemming from his arrest in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9. Mangione pleaded "not guilty" in a Manhattan courtroom packed with at least two dozen women and six men watching in attendance on December 23, the New York Post reported at the time.
The 26-year-old, who is an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family, was arrested in Altoona after a McDonald's employee spotted him eating at the restaurant and believed he resembled the then-wanted gunman linked to the Manhattan shooting. Mangione was found carrying a ghost gun, masks and a manifesto linked to the incident at the time of his arrest, authorities confirmed.