Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, faces two high-profile criminal proceedings this year. He is scheduled to be tried in both state court and federal court, where the charges differ.
Thompson was shot and killed outside New York’s Hilton Midtown hotel on the morning of December 4, 2024, while addressing an investor conference. Five days later, amid a frantic manhunt, Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
The executive’s murder, which was recorded by a CCTV camera, shocked people across the country. It also turned his accused killer into a cause célèbre and an avatar of public fury against the private health insurance industry.
Here’s what you need to know about the status of the two cases. Mangione, 27, pleaded not guilty in both proceedings.
What are the charges and possible sentences?
In the state case, Mangione faces nine felony charges, including second-degree murder and several charges related to criminal possession of a weapon.
“This type of premeditated and targeted gun violence cannot and will not be tolerated, and my office has been working day in and day out to bring the defendant to justice,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in December 2024.
New York state prosecutors initially attempted to prosecute Mangione on two other charges: first-degree murder “in furtherance of terrorism” and second-degree murder “as an act of terrorism,” but a judge dismissed those charges last year, ruling that they were “legally insufficient.”
The state charges carry the possibility of life in prison. (New York does not have the death penalty after its capital punishment statute was ruled unconstitutional in 2004.)
In the federal case, Mangione faces two counts of harassment, which carry a maximum penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The federal government originally charged Mangione with two other crimes: murder by use of a firearm, which carried a possible death penalty, and a firearms charge, but a judge dismissed those charges in late January.
U.S. District Judge Margaret M. Garnett ruled that the murder charge can only be used in conjunction with a “crime of violence.” It found that Mangione’s alleged harassment of Thompson did not meet that standard, effectively preventing prosecutors from seeking the death penalty.
Karen Agnifilo, one of Mangione’s lawyers, applauded that ruling and told reporters that his defense team was “very relieved.”
What evidence can be used?
In both cases, prosecutors are expected to place special emphasis on evidence seized from Mangione’s backpack on Dec. 9, 2024, when he was arrested at a McDonald’s nearly 300 miles from the block where Thompson was killed.
Authorities have said Mangione’s backpack contained a handgun, a silencer, a magazine with bullets wrapped in underwear, fake identification cards, a red notebook and other writings detailing his complaints against the private healthcare system in the United States.
Mangione’s lawyers tried to block that evidence at the federal trial, arguing in part that the arresting officers conducted an illegal search. But the prosecution team refuted that argument, and Garnett ultimately concluded that “the search was reasonable under the facts.”
It remains to be seen whether the items found in Mangione’s backpack will be admissible at the state trial. That is the subject of a pretrial hearing scheduled for May 18.
Prosecution teams in both cases can also highlight evidence found at the scene of Thompson’s murder. Two bullet casings had the words “deny” and “depose” written on them, and one bullet was found with the word “delay,” authorities said.
Where is Mangione detained?
Mangione has been detained at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since December 2024. The same facility also houses deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and hip-hop artist Tekashi 6ix9ine, whose real name is Daniel Hernández.
In a bizarre episode in late January, a Minnesota man was accused of impersonating an FBI agent after showing up at prison claiming to have a court order to release an inmate, identified by a law enforcement source as Mangione.
When do the trials start?
The state case is scheduled to begin June 8. In the federal case, jury selection is tentatively scheduled to begin Sept. 8.
