Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty to the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City at his arraignment Friday in Manhattan federal court.
The murder charge is eligible for the death penalty, which Attorney General Pam Bondi said prosecutors will seek in Mangione’s federal trial, which is likely to start in 2026.
Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty in NYC federal murder case
Federal prosecutors indicted Mangione last week on two counts of stalking, a firearm offense and murder through the use of a firearm in Thompson’s 2024 shooting death.
Mangione, 26, wore a beige prison uniform as he entered his plea Friday. He stood with his lawyers and leaned forward to a microphone as U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett asked if he understood the indictment and charges against him.
Mangione said, “yes.” When asked how he wished to plead, he said, “not guilty” and sat down.
The pleas were not unexpected, since Mangione also pleaded not guilty to state charges he faces in New York and Pennsylvania.
Mangione’s lawyer, Karen Agnifilo, asked that the federal case be tried first, since prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
The judge said she hopes to set a trial date during the next federal court conference on Dec. 5.
Mangione’s lawyer says Manhattan DA’s office eavesdropped on prison phone call
After Mangione’s arraignment, Agnifilo said the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office told her it was inadvertently “eavesdropping” on a recorded phone call between her and Mangione.
Agnifilo said the recording was sent to them by federal prosecutors and that the DA’s office stopped listening as soon as they realized what it was.
Federal prosecutors responded in court saying that while prison phone calls are recorded, this was the first they were hearing of the claim.
The judge gave prosecutors one week to explain the extent of the error and how they plan to prevent it from happening again.
Before the arraignment, Mangione’s lawyers released photos of his handwritten logs, which they said mark each of the roughly 15 letters he receives daily in prison.
Pam Bondi, DOJ seek federal death penalty for Mangione
Mangione’s arraignment came a day after the U.S. Department of Justice formally told the court it intends to seek the death penalty in the case.
Federal prosecutors say Mangione poses a future danger, alleging in the latest court filing that he intended to “target an entire industry and rally opposition to that industry by engaging in lethal violence.”
They also say he took steps to dodge law enforcement, flee New York City after the murder and cross state lines while armed with a privately manufactured gun and silencer.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi previously said prosecutors would seek the death penalty, marking the first time since President Trump vowed to resume federal executions when he took office in January.
Mangione’s attorneys have filed motions asking for the death penalty option to be removed, saying the government “intends to kill Mr. Mangione as a political stunt.”
Civil and criminal attorney Donte Mills explained the challenges in a death penalty case.
“You have an additional burden, you have to prove intent. Intent that he intended to rile up the community or make people act as he did, make people commit murders against people in the health care industry. You have to prove that he intended this to be more than the killing of one person, and it’s really hard to prove what was in someone’s mind,” Mills said.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson killed in NYC
The 26-year-old is accused of ambushing Thompson, a husband and father of two, outside a midtown hotel on Dec. 4, 2024. Investigators said Thompson was on his way to an investors conference when he was shot in the back on the sidewalk.
The manhunt for his killer led police through Central Park to a hostel on the Upper West Side and eventually to a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state murder and terrorism charges in New York, as well as forgery and weapons charges in Pennsylvania.
contributed to this report.
Elijah Westbrook is an Emmy award-winning journalist. He joined CBS News New York in January 2022.
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