U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Tuesday she is directing prosecutors to pursue the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, the young man suspected of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December.
“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 said in a statement. “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.”
The Department of Justice called Thompson’s murder an “act of political violence.” Bondi is specifically ordering acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky for the Southern District of New York to seek the death penalty in the high-profile case.
“Mangione’s actions involved substantial planning and premeditation and because the murder took place in public with bystanders nearby, may have posed grave risk of death to additional persons,” the DOJ said.
Mangione, 26, is accused of killing the chief executive outside a Manhattan hotel in early December before fleeing the city to central Pennsylvania, where he was apprehended by local authorities after an individual called the police on the suspect. The nationwide manhunt lasted five days. Mangione is being held at a federal detention center in Brooklyn.
The criminal defendant faces three separate trials: the first in New York for first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism, the second for federal charges involving murder by firearm, and the third in Pennsylvania for illegal gun possession, among other charges. The federal charges for using a firearm to commit murder and for interstate stalking resulting in death make him eligible for the death penalty if convicted.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state charges but has yet to enter a plea for federal charges. He is due for an appearance in federal court on April 18.
Mangione allegedly committed the murder because he harbored resentment toward the health insurance industry, possibly exacerbated by his debilitating back injury. Authorities have not fully determined his motive, though his manifesto suggests the political motivation stemmed from his hatred of “parasitic” healthcare companies.
The man has unusually amassed a number of followers, who likewise hate the healthcare industry. His supporters have described Mangione as a “political prisoner” and even contributed to his own legal defense fund, which has received over $775,000 as of Tuesday.
The words “deny,” “defend,” and “depose” were found on shell casings of the bullets used to kill Thompson at the crime scene — a common phrase used by critics of the healthcare industry.
Mangione, who grew up in Towson, Md., maintained an anti-capitalist social media presence. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering.
Bondi’s directive follows her February 5 memo formally reviving the federal death penalty and lifting the Biden administration’s moratorium on federal executions. President Donald Trump signed an executive order restoring the death penalty on his first day back in office, following through on a campaign promise.