Attorney General Pam Bondi previously directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Mangione.
Prosecutors on Thursday formally filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, the man accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York in December 2024.
The filing, submitted by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office for the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York, alleged that Mangione “presents a future danger because he expressed intent to target an entire industry, and rally political and social opposition to that industry, by engaging in an act of lethal violence.”
It alleged that Mangione “took steps to evade law enforcement, flee New York City immediately after the murder, and cross state lines while armed with a privately manufactured firearm and silencer.”
Prosecutors filed the notice just one day before Mangione, 26, is scheduled to appear in Manhattan federal court for an arraignment.
Mangione is facing both federal and state charges over the Dec. 4 death of Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two who was killed as he walked outside a hotel in Midtown Manhattan, where UnitedHealthcare was gathering for an investor conference. UnitedHealthcare is the insurance division of UnitedHealth Group.
Mangione, a prep school and Ivy League graduate, has pleaded not guilty to murder, terrorism, and other charges brought by the state prosecutors in New York.
He is to enter a plea for charges of murder and stalking in the federal case against him. If convicted in that case, the jury would determine in a separate phase of the trial whether or not to recommend the death penalty.
Any such recommendation would need to be unanimous, and the judge would be required to impose it.
Attorney General Pam Bondi directed federal prosecutors to seek capital punishment for Mangione on April 1.
In an April 1 statement, Bondi said the death of Thompson, who headed the biggest health insurer in the United States, was a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.”
“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.
