(Bloomberg) — Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty to federal murder charges that carry a possible death sentence and pressed a judge to fast-track the case ahead of a related state trial in the shooting of a UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive.
Mangione, 26, is charged with stalking and shooting Brian Thompson outside a hotel in Manhattan on Dec. 4. Wearing a tan prison outfit, he stood and entered the plea at a hearing in Manhattan Friday.
While Mangione has already pleaded not guilty to state murder charges, federal prosecutors filed separate charges that carry the death penalty. Friday’s arraignment follows the formal filing of an indictment against Mangione last week.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi this month instructed federal prosecutors in New York to pursue the death penalty against Mangione, calling Thompson’s shooting “a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination.”
At the hearing, Mangione’s lawyers said the potential death sentence required that the federal trial take precedence over the state case, which had been expected to go first. US Judge Margaret M. Garnett said she would schedule the federal trial “as if it were the only case” and address any scheduling conflicts as they arise.
The judge warned both sides against public statements that could harm Mangione’s right to a fair trial or complicate the process of seating an unbiased jury. She specifically directed the prosecution team to pass the warning along to Jay Clayton, President Donald Trump’s pick for US Attorney in Manhattan, and to Bondi and her subordinates in Washington.
Mangione is accused of shooting Thompson on a Manhattan sidewalk last December before fleeing and touching off a manhunt that ended with his arrest at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Mangione has become a folk hero to many who believe he expressed their rage at the healthcare system.
The brazen shooting of Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealth’s insurance unit, drew national attention. A security video captured the shooter before sunrise, wearing a backpack and hooded jacket, approaching Thompson from behind, firing a 3-D printed ghost gun and then leaving the scene. The executive was scheduled to speak at a UnitedHealth investor day at the Hilton Midtown hotel in New York.
Police who arrested Mangione in Altoona found a manifesto decrying the health-care industry and a notebook discussing killing a CEO, according to authorities.
Garnett gave prosecutors 30 days to turn over evidence to Mangione’s team, including emails, social media accounts, phone records, electronic files and one terabyte of evidence collected by state prosecutors in their case. She set a court conference for December at which she’ll determine when in 2026 Mangione will go on trial.
Outside court after the half-hour proceeding, more than 100 supporters and onlookers gathered at the foot of the courthouse staircase and in a public square across the street. Some wore green hats with the letter L, mimicking the character Luigi from the Mario Bros. video-game franchise. One supporter played the song “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees while others held signs reading “Free Luigi” and “Put the System On Trial.”
The case is US v. Mangione, 25-cr-00176, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
(Adds details of hearing starting in first paragraph)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
