Luigi Mangione is scheduled to be in federal court on Friday (August 14, 2026) for a hearing at which he’s expected to plead guilty in connection with the 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson , according to a person familiar with the matter.
Mangione, a University of Pennsylvania graduate from a wealthy Maryland family, was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles (370 kilometers) west of Manhattan.
Lawyers for Mangione and the Justice Department declined comment prior to the late-morning court hearing, which was hastily requested by prosecutors and defence lawyers earlier this week.
A trial on state murder charges is scheduled to start next month. It is unclear whether that trial would go forward if Mangione pleaded guilty in the federal case. Mangione faces two federal charges that he stalked Thompson to cause his death. Both the federal and state cases could lead to a life prison sentence. Mangione had complained about the prospect of two trials, telling a judge in February: “It’s the same trial twice. One plus one is two. Double jeopardy by any commonsense definition. U.S. District Judge Margaret M. Garnett has delivered some setbacks to the defence, including ruling in January that prosecutors could use items collected from Mangione’s backpack during his arrest as evidence against him. The defence, involving claims that he was suffering from extreme emotional disturbance at the time of the killing, isn’t allowed in federal court.
In June, Mangione’s lawyers said they would pursue a psychiatric defence in the state case but reversed course a day later.
A federal judge earlier this year tossed out additional charges that could have exposed Mangione to a potential death penalty.
