Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty on Friday to federal stalking charges connected to the killing of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson in Manhattan on 4 December 2024. During a 45-minute hearing, Mangione told Judge Margaret Garnett: “I shot Mr Thompson in Manhattan and he died.”
Mangione’s federal trial, which had been scheduled for next year, will not go ahead. Judge Garnett scheduled sentencing for 18 December, and federal prosecutor Jamie McDonald said the government would seek life imprisonment. A separate New York state murder case remains unresolved.
What Mangione admitted in court
Mangione said he had learned that UnitedHealthcare would hold its annual investor conference in New York after years of severe back pain and difficulties navigating the health system. He said he posed as an institutional investor to obtain information about the event, researched attendees, then printed a gun with a 3-D printer and fitted it with a silencer.
He also told the court that he understood his actions would place Thompson in fear of death or serious bodily injury and that he knew what he was doing was illegal. He did not say that his actions were wrong or express regret. Judge Garnett found him fit to enter the plea.
Why the federal case changed
Mangione had previously pleaded not guilty in the federal and state cases. The federal case originally included murder and other charges, but Judge Garnett dismissed two of the four federal counts on 30 January, including the death-penalty-eligible firearm murder charge. The remaining case involved two federal stalking counts, each carrying a potential maximum sentence of life without parole.
Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on 9 December 2024 after a manhunt. His federal guilty plea followed a joint request by prosecutors and his defense for a hearing, submitted shortly after a final pre-trial conference in the state case.
What happens to the New York case
Manhattan prosecutors have charged Mangione with murder and weapons offenses in state court, with a trial scheduled for 8 September. Within minutes of the federal plea and his admissions, defense lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo said she had filed a motion seeking dismissal of the state murder case.
New York’s double-jeopardy law generally bars separate prosecutions for the same offense or criminal transaction, but the statute includes exceptions. The supplied report does not establish whether the state case will be dismissed or proceed.
The response in court
Thompson’s widow, Paulette Thompson, and other relatives attended the hearing. Some family members cried as Mangione described the shooting. The family later said the guilty plea was an important step toward justice, while acknowledging that it would not ease their loss.
McDonald said violence could not be used to promote a political or social message. The case has drawn international attention and prompted discussion about the United States healthcare system, while Mangione has also attracted support from people who view him as a folk hero.
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