Federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against the man accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel on 4 December, the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, said on Tuesday.
Bondi said she ordered prosecutors to seek execution for Luigi Mangione, 26, because – as she put it – he carried out “a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America”.
According to prosecutors, Mangione had a spiral notebook in which he expressed hostility toward the health insurance industry and wealthy executives. UnitedHealthcare is the largest health insurer in the US, though the company has said Mangione was never a client.
Among the entries, the complaint said, was one from August 2024 that said “the target is insurance” because “it checks every box” and one from October that describes an intent to “wack” an insurance company CEO.
Mangione is facing both state and federal charges in connection with Thompson’s killing. He has pleaded not guilty to the state charges and has not entered a plea to the federal ones.
The maximum punishment on the state charges is life in prison.
Mangione and his attorneys have said they plan to avail themselves of about $775,000 in money raised on the GiveSendGo platform to aid his legal defense. The campaign was organized by a group named the December 4th Legal Committee.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
