U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi instructed New York federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty against the man charged with fatally shooting a UnitedHealthcare executive last year.
One of the federal charges Luigi Mangione is facing, murder through the use of a firearm, makes him eligible for the death penalty. While prosecutors had not said whether they intended to pursue capital punishment against Mangione, Bondi said they would do so after President Trump ended President Biden’s 2021 moratorium on the death penalty in most federal cases.
“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,” she said in a statement.
READ: Arresting Cops Gave Luigi Mangione a Snack To Get His DNA After Illegal Search, Lawyers Say
Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, five days after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot in Manhattan, New York, on December 4. Thompson was attending his company’s annual investor meeting when he was killed.
On the federal level, Mangione is charged in New York with murder through the use of a firearm, stalking, and a firearms offense. On the state level, he faces firearm charges in Pennsylvania. In New York, he faces state charges of first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism, second-degree murder as an act of terrorism, and criminal possession of a weapon.
Authorities said fingerprints recovered from a water bottle and a KIND snack bar at the scene matched Mangione’s prints.
In addition to allegedly having a gun with a silencer and fake IDs, authorities said Mangione also had a 262-word “manifesto” that decried the healthcare industry as “parasites.” Shortly after Mangione’s arrest, New York officials held a press coverage in which they hinted at the motive in Thompson’s murder. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said Mangione, a data engineer with a master’s from the University of Pennsylvania, “has some ill will towards corporate America.”
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to the state charges against him. A plea has not been entered in the federal case.
This story is developing.
[Feature Photo: AP Photo/Pamela Smith]
