Mangione pleads guilty to federal charges in CEO killing

Aug. 14 (UPI) — Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty Friday to federal charges he fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan.

Mangione, 28, told Judge Margaret M. Garnett that he shot Thompson in 2024, The New York Times reported. He had previously pleaded not guilty to the stalking and first-degree murder charges in an April 2025 hearing.

In January, Garnett dismissed two federal criminal charges against Mangione. One accused him of murder through the use of a firearm during stalking. That charge was eligible for the death penalty.

Prosecutors said Mangione shot and killed Thompson, 50, on a Manhattan street outside a Midtown hotel on Dec. 4, 2024, as the CEO was on his way to a UnitedHealthcare shareholder’s meeting. He was arrested several days later at an Altoona, Pa., McDonald’s.

“I understood that my actions would place him in fear of death or bodily injury,” Mangione said in court. “I knew what I was doing was illegal.”

Garnett said the maximum possible sentence for the charges was life in prison followed by supervised release, CBS News reported. She said there are no parole options, but he could be released early for good behavior. He’s required to serve at least 85% of his sentence.

Garnett scheduled Mangione’s sentencing hearing for Dec. 18.

Mangione also faces state charges in a trial expected to begin in September. Defense lawyers said they’re seeking to have the state charges dismissed under New York’s double jeopardy law, but state prosecutors said they’ll fight to keep their case with the argument that the state and federal charges address different harms.