NEW YORK— Luigi Mangione was indicted Thursday on a federal murder charge in the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a necessary step as prosecutors work to carry out the Trump administration’s order to seek the death penalty for what it described as a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.”
Mangione’s indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in Manhattan, includes a charge of murder with a firearm that carries the death penalty.
The indictment, which mirrors a criminal complaint filed following Mangione’s arrest in December, also charges him with stalking and a firearms offense.
Mangione’s attorneys have argued that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s announcement this month ordering prosecutors to seek the death penalty was a “political stunt” that harmed the grand jury process and violated his constitutional right to due process.
Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family, faces federal and state murder charges after allegedly shooting Thompson, 50, outside a Manhattan hotel on December 4 as the executive arrived for UnitedHealthcare’s annual investor conference.
Surveillance footage captured a masked gunman shooting Thompson from behind. Police say the words “delay,” “deny,” and “depose” were scrawled on the ammunition, echoing a common phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.
The killing and the subsequent five-day search that led to Mangione’s arrest shook the business community, with some health insurers removing photos of executives from their websites and switching to online shareholder meetings.
At the same time, some health insurance critics have rallied around Mangione to represent their dissatisfaction with coverage denials and high medical bills.
Mangione’s federal indictment was issued just before Friday’s deadline for prosecutors to file one or seek a delay. It was not immediately clear when he would be brought to federal court in Manhattan for arraignment.
A message seeking comment was left with a spokesperson for Mangione’s defense team.
Bondi announced on April 1 that she was directing federal prosecutors in Manhattan to seek the death penalty for Mangione.
It was the first time the Justice Department said it was pursuing capital punishment since President Donald Trump returned to office on Jan. 20 with a promise to resume federal executions, which had been halted under the previous administration.
Bondi described Thompson’s assassination as “an act of political violence.”
Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Mangione’s lawyer, responded in a subsequent court filing that “the United States government intends to kill Mr. Mangione as a political stunt.” She wants to prevent prosecutors from seeking the death penalty.
Friedman Agnifilo and her co-counsel contended that Bondi’s announcement, which was followed by posts to her Instagram account and a television appearance, violated long-standing Justice Department protocols and “indelibly prejudiced” the grand jury process that led to his indictment.
Mangione is still being held in a federal jail in Brooklyn. His state charges have a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Prosecutors have stated that the two cases will proceed in parallel, with the state case expected to go to trial first. It was not immediately clear whether Mangione’s indictment on Thursday would change the order.
Mangione was arrested on December 9 in Altoona, Pennsylvania, approximately 230 miles (370 kilometers) west of New York City, and flown to Manhattan by plane and helicopter.
Police said Mangione had a 9mm handgun similar to the one used in the shooting, as well as a notebook in which he allegedly expressed hostility toward the health insurance industry and wealthy executives.
Among the entries, prosecutors said, was one from August 2024 that said “the target is insurance” because “it checks every box” and another from October that describes an intent to “wack” an insurance company CEO.
UnitedHealthcare, the largest health insurer in the United States, has stated that Mangione was never a client.
Friedman Agnifilo has stated that she will seek to suppress some of the evidence.