Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty Friday to federal stalking charges in connection with the December 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Mangione, 28, admitted in court that he posed as a potential investor to learn the location of an investors’ conference in New York where Thompson was scheduled to speak.
“On the morning of Dec. 4, 2024, I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan, and he died,” Mangione told the court.
Thompson’s widow was in the courtroom and repeatedly wiped tears from her eyes, The Associated Press reported.
Mangione said his experience with the healthcare system motivated the killing. He described “years of enduring severe pain from a broken back and navigating the obstacles of the health insurance system.”
It remains unclear why Mangione chose Thompson, 50, as his target. UnitedHealthcare has said Mangione was never a customer of the company.
Mangione faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 18.
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi had directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty, but a judge blocked that effort in January.
What happens to the state case?
Mangione still faces a separate state murder case and is scheduled to go on trial next month.
He has pleaded not guilty to eight felony charges in that case, including second-degree murder and several charges related to criminal possession of a weapon.
Following Friday’s federal guilty plea, NBC News reported that Mangione’s lawyers are expected to seek dismissal of some or all of the state charges on double jeopardy grounds.
“Mr. Mangione has accepted full responsibility for the death of Brian Thompson,” defense lawyer Karen Friedman said outside the courthouse. She said Mangione should not be prosecuted twice for “a single tragic event.”
State prosecutors are expected to oppose the effort, arguing that the federal stalking charges and the state murder case involve different crimes.
Mangione’s case has drawn national attention since his arrest, including from a vocal group of supporters who regularly attend his court appearances.
