Pam Bondi Pursues Death Penalty for Luigi Mangione in High-Profile Manhattan Murder Case

Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Tuesday her intent to pursue the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson in front of a midtown Manhattan hotel last December. Bondi’s decision follows “careful consideration” and aligns with President Trump’s executive order, which renewed death penalty requests in response to President Biden’s 2021 moratorium on most federal capital punishment cases.

This decision was widely expected and reflects Mr. Trump’s anti-crime policies intersecting with a sensational murder case. Prosecutors allege that Mr. Mangione targeted Thompson, a 50-year-old healthcare executive, viewing him as an epitome of corporate greed. “Luigi Mangione’s murder of Brian Thompson—an innocent man and father of two—was a premeditated, coldblooded assassination that shocked America,” Bondi stated.

Bondi ordered Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky in Manhattan to seek the death penalty. Nicholas Biase, a spokesperson for the office handling Mr. Mangione’s federal case, declined to comment on the development.

It remains uncertain if Bondi’s department has previously sought the death penalty, but this request is one of the first under her direction. More death penalty requests may be announced as the department reviews applicable cases, according to informed officials.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan charged Mr. Mangione, who resides in Towson, Maryland, on December 14. He was accused of meticulously planning the shooting, having tracked Thompson’s movements and monitored his hotel, all while registering at a hostel on the Upper West Side under a false identity.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office later charged Mr. Mangione with first-degree murder, opening the possibility of a life sentence without parole. Mr. Mangione, 26, was apprehended at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, five days after the incident. A hooded shooter matching his description confronted Mr. Thompson on his way to an early morning investors’ meeting at the New York Hilton Midtown.

In both state and federal cases, Mr. Mangione has pled not guilty.

President Trump, on his first day in office, issued an executive order directing the Department of Justice to seek the death penalty for “crimes of a severity demanding its use,” disregarding “other factors.” The order mentioned two examples that don’t directly apply to Mr. Mangione’s alleged offenses—killing a law enforcement officer and committing a capital crime as an undocumented immigrant.

The federal complaint against Mr. Mangione includes a charge of using a firearm in a murder, carrying a potential death sentence, along with two stalking charges and a firearms violation.

Reporting contributed by Benjamin Weiser from New York.