Luigi Mangione Pleads Not Guilty to Federal Charges in UnitedHealthcare CEO Shooting

Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty Friday to a federal indictment accusing him of stalking and murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

The alleged assassin, clad in khaki prison garb, entered the plea in federal court in New York on Friday, April 25. It comes just hours after prosecutors formally filed papers informing the judge they intend to seek the death penalty.

Mangione, 26, is accused of fatally gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Midtown Manhattan street in December.

In court on Friday, federal judge Margaret Garnett ordered that all the government’s discovery — about 4 terabytes worth of it — be turned over to the defense by May 27. She ordered the parties back to the courtroom by Dec. 5 — just over a year to the day after Thompson’s murder — for a trial date to be set.

Mangione also faces state-level murder charges in New York weapons and forgery charges in Pennsylvania, where he was caught after a five-day manhunt. When apprehended at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pa., authorities said they found on his person a 9mm ghost gun, fake IDs and a manifesto highly critical of the American health insurance industry.

Mangione’s attorneys say they want the federal trial to take place first, because of the capital punishment implications. He has pleaded not guilty to the state-level charges in New York but has not entered a plea in Pennsylvania.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced earlier this month that the Justice Department would seek the death penalty against Mangione as part of President Donald Trump’s “agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again.”

In their Friday filing, DOJ prosecutors justified pursuing the death penalty, in part, by alleging Mangione sought to “amplify an ideological message” and “provoke broad-based resistance to the victim’s industry.”

“[Mangione] presents a future danger because he expressed intent to target an entire industry, and rally political and social opposition to that industry, by engaging in an act of lethal violence,” the filing reads.

Mangione’s lawyers call the move a “political stunt” that has “indelibly prejudiced” the judicial process and any potential jurors, and are looking to block the DOJ from seeking capital punishment.

A fundraiser on GiveSendGo has raised more than $900,000 for Mangione’s legal defense. Like his previous court appearances, throngs of fans showed up to support Mangione outside the courthouse in Lower Manhattan, many waiting in line to secure a spot for viewing the proceedings.

Mangione’s attorneys also sought assurance that their client’s due process rights were protected behind bars, as they claimed someone was “eavesdropping” on his calls with counsel and feeding info to prosecutors. The judge ordered the government to submit a letter by May 2 outlining how Mangione’s rights will be protected.

Mangione is being held pretrial at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, the same facility housing hip hop mogul and accused sex trafficker Sean “Diddy” Combs.