Luigi Mangione Pleads Guilty, Admits Gunning Down Health Care CEO: 'I Shot Mr Thompson'

Luigi Mangione on Friday admitted to shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan, telling a federal judge, “On the morning of December 4, I shot Mr Thompson in Manhattan and he died.”

The 28-year-old pleaded guilty to federal stalking charges linked to the killing of Thompson, 50, in December 2024. He is due to be sentenced on December 18, with prosecutors saying they will seek a life sentence.

Mangione Seeks To Drop State Murder Charges

Mangione still faces murder charges in New York state court. His lawyers on Friday asked for those charges to be dismissed, arguing that prosecuting him in both state and federal court for the same conduct would violate double jeopardy protections.

“We just filed our motion in state court, explaining why the state charges must be dismissed

under New York’s double jeopardy protections,” his lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo said.

The federal stalking charges and state murder charges could both result in life imprisonment. Two other federal charges that carried the death penalty were dismissed by a judge earlier this year.

Prosecutors said Mangione deserved severe punishment. “There can be no celebrity in assassination,” Jamie McDonald, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said.

Case Sparks Debate Over US Health System

The killing has sharply divided public opinion, with Mangione gaining support from some people who have expressed anger over the US health insurance system. Supporters gathered outside the Manhattan courthouse on Friday amid heavy security.

Thompson’s family, who attended the hearing, said they were grateful that the federal justice system had held Mangione accountable for “this heinous act”, while stressing that the murder case was still pending.

“While nothing will ease the pain of losing him, we are grateful that the federal justice system has held the person responsible for this heinous act accountable,” the family said in a statement after the hearing.

Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9 after a days-long manhunt. Prosecutors allege he had travelled to New York from Atlanta and carried out surveillance near Thompson’s hotel before the shooting.

In court on Friday, Mangione also admitted using a 3-D printer to make a gun and fit it with a silencer and magazine.

(With inputs from AFP)