Luigi Mangione pleads guilty in federal case over insurance CEO killing

Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty Friday in federal court to charges stemming from the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The plea avoids a federal trial in the high-profile case, which had become a symbol of public frustration with health insurance practices.

Mangione, 28, had previously pleaded not guilty to murder, weapons, and stalking charges. In January 2026, a federal judge dismissed the murder and weapons charges due to legal technicalities, removing the possibility of a death penalty sentence in the federal case. He still faces life without parole on the stalking charges.

His federal trial was scheduled for January. Separately, Mangione pleaded not guilty in December 2024 to state charges including murder, terrorism, weapons, and forgery. The terrorism charges were dismissed in September 2025. A trial for the state charges is set for September 8.

If convicted of second-degree murder in the state case, Mangione could face 25 years to life in prison. Resolving the federal case might allow him to argue double jeopardy to dismiss the state murder charge, though prosecutors intend to oppose this. Thompson was shot dead on December 4, 2024, outside a hotel during an investor conference. The graphic nature of the killing and the subsequent manhunt made the case a media sensation.