Luigi Mangione pleads guilty to federal stalking charges in Brian Thompson killing

Luigi Mangione, 28, pleaded guilty Friday to federal stalking charges, a plea that could resolve one of two cases against him in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The plea occurred during a hastily scheduled hearing in Manhattan federal court.

Mangione is accused of ambushing Thompson, 50, outside a New York City hotel on Dec. 4, 2024, as the executive headed to his company's investor conference. Surveillance video captured a masked gunman shooting Thompson from behind. Authorities found writings on ammunition that mimicked a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims, and Mangione's private writings reportedly lambasted health insurers as greedy.

Thompson, who led one of the U.S.'s largest health insurers, was not widely known outside the industry. Mangione, a University of Pennsylvania graduate from a wealthy Maryland family, was arrested five days after the shooting in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

A state murder trial is scheduled for next month, and it remains unclear if it will proceed if the federal case is resolved by this guilty plea. Mangione's lawyers have argued that facing two trials for the same conduct violates double jeopardy protections. New York law could bar a state prosecution if the federal case is resolved first, especially if it ends in a guilty plea.