(NEW YORK) — Attorney General Pam Bondi is directing federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione if he is convicted of the December murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, she announced in a statement Tuesday.
One of the federal charges against Mangione, murder through use of a firearm, makes him eligible for the death penalty if convicted.
“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.”
Mangione’s attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, called the decision to seek the death penalty “political,” and said it “goes against the recommendation of the local federal prosecutors, the law, and historical precedent.”
“While claiming to protect against murder, the federal government moves to commit the pre-meditated, state-sponsored murder of Luigi,” she said in a statement. “By doing this, they are defending the broken, immoral, and murderous healthcare industry that continues to terrorize the American people.”
“We are prepared to fight these federal charges, brought by a lawless Justice Department, as well as the New York State charges, and the Pennsylvania charges, and anything else they want to pile on Luigi,” Agnifilo continued. “This is a corrupt web of government dysfunction and one-upmanship. Luigi is caught in a high-stakes game of tug-of-war between state and federal prosecutors, except the trophy is a young man’s life.”
The federal judge in the case already appointed a death penalty expert to the defense team in February.
Mangione is accused of gunning down Thompson outside a Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan as the CEO headed to an investors conference on Dec. 4. He was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, five days after the murder.
The federal charges against Mangione were filed in December, during the Biden administration.
“As alleged, Mangione planned his attack for months and stalked his victim for days before murdering him — methodically planning when, where, and how to carry out his crime,” then-Attorney General Merrick Garland said at the time.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state charges.
He hasn’t entered a plea to federal charges. He is due back in federal court on April 18.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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