Manhattan Federal Court Awaits Plea from Suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO Shooting

A pretrial conference in Manhattan federal court on Friday will hear whether 28-year-old Luigi Mangione will plead guilty to two federal stalking counts tied to the 2024 shooting of UnitedHealthcare chief Brian Thompson. Prosecutors and defense lawyers declined to comment on the pending plea negotiations, and the specific terms of any agreement have not been disclosed. The charges—interstate stalking resulting in death and stalking through use of interstate facilities resulting in death—carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and are separate from state accusations that include second-degree murder and firearms offenses. Mangione’s state trial is scheduled to begin early next month. He previously entered not-guilty pleas in both federal and state cases and had faced an additional federal firearm-use charge that was dismissed earlier this year. Authorities arrested Mangione at a Pennsylvania fast-food restaurant on Dec. 9, 2024, five days after Thompson was shot outside a Manhattan hotel during an investors’ conference. A notebook found in Mangione’s backpack detailed grievances against the health-insurance industry, and bullet casings at the scene bore the words “delay,” “deny,” and “depose.” Judges have allowed the notebook to be admitted as evidence despite defense objections.