NEW YORK — Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty in federal court on Friday to charges stemming from the killing of UnitedHealthcare Chief Executive Brian Thompson, admitting that he stalked the executive and fatally shot him in December 2024, prosecutors said.
Mangione, 28, entered guilty pleas to two federal counts of stalking resulting in death. During the hearing, he acknowledged responsibility for tracking Thompson and shooting him outside a Manhattan hotel as the executive arrived for UnitedHealthcare’s annual investor conference.
The plea was entered without a formal agreement with prosecutors. Federal prosecutors are seeking a sentence of life imprisonment, while U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett is scheduled to sentence Mangione on Dec. 18, according to court proceedings.
Thompson, 50, was killed on Dec. 4, 2024, in a shooting that prompted a nationwide manhunt and drew intense public attention to the U.S. health insurance industry.
Mangione also faces separate murder charges in New York state court. His lawyers are seeking dismissal of that case, arguing that continued prosecution would violate protections against double jeopardy. State prosecutors have maintained that they intend to pursue the case.
The federal guilty plea resolves the federal prosecution's trial phase, but the status of the separate state case remains subject to further court proceedings.
