Luigi Mangione has pleaded guilty to federal stalking charges stemming from the December 2024 killing of UnitedHealth Group executive Brian Thompson. Mangione, 28, appeared in federal court in New York and acknowledged shooting Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel where the executive was attending an investor conference. This is his first admission of responsibility in the high-profile case.
He entered the plea without reaching a deal with prosecutors and could face a maximum sentence of life in prison. Mangione fled Manhattan after the shooting, which led to a nationwide manhunt. He was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in central Pennsylvania. Until his guilty plea, Mangione had been tight-lipped. He also attracted substantial online support. Thousands of followers showed sympathy and dozens of supporters even turned up at his court hearings.
A conviction could result in a sentence ranging from 25 years to life. Mangione is due to face trial next month in New York state court, where he is charged with second-degree murder and other offences.
She scheduled his federal sentencing for December 18. In the state case, New York Judge Gregory Carro dismissed the first-degree murder charge brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, removing the possibility of a mandatory life sentence in state prison.
US District Judge Margaret Garnett, who presided over Friday’s federal hearing, said any federal sentence imposed on Mangione could be added to the punishment handed down in the state case.
Judge Garnett previously dismissed a federal murder charge that could have exposed Mangione to the death penalty.
