Mangione pleads guilty to stalking charges, admits shooting CEO

The admission could complicate a separate New York murder trial scheduled for next month

Luigi Mangione has admitted to fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and pleaded guilty to two federal stalking charges.

The 28-year-old entered the plea before US District Judge Margaret Garnett in Manhattan on Friday, according to the Department of Justice. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole, with sentencing scheduled for December 18.

Federal prosecutors said that Mangione traveled across state lines and tracked Thompson’s movements before the killing. He pleaded guilty to interstate stalking resulting in death and cyberstalking through interstate facilities resulting in death.

“I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan and he died,” Mangione told the court. He did not enter into a plea agreement with prosecutors, which can allow defendants to receive reduced charges or a lighter sentence in exchange for pleading guilty.

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“Today, Luigi Mangione admitted to stalking and murdering Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street in broad daylight,” US Attorney Jamie McDonald said. “No grievance, political belief, or ideological cause can justify murder. With today’s guilty plea, Mangione is being held accountable for a heinous crime that claimed an innocent life and drew national attention,” he added, crediting law enforcement agencies and prosecutors for their work on the case.

Mangione still faces eight felony counts in New York, including second-degree murder, six weapons charges, and possession of a forged instrument, with his trial due to begin on Sept. 8. Following his federal plea, his lawyers moved to dismiss the murder and firearms charges, arguing that New York’s double-jeopardy protections bar him from being prosecuted twice for the same crime.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has said it will oppose the motion, which must be resolved before the case can proceed.

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Thompson was shot from behind outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel on December 4, 2024, while heading to a UnitedHealthcare investor conference.

The discharged shell casings and bullets found at the scene had the words “deny,” “depose,” and “delay” written on them, apparently in reference to the practice of denying health insurance payouts to clients.

A manifesto attributed to Mangione and published by the media referred to decades of “corruption and greed” in the US healthcare system, describing industry executives as “parasites” and accusing them of abusing the country “for immense profit.”

The case renewed public debate over health-insurance industry practices and access to care. Expressions of support for Mangione on social media have also prompted officials to warn against glorifying the killing or portraying him as a hero.

The DOJ announced in April 2025 that it would seek the death penalty. Garnett dismissed the capital murder and silencer-related charges in January, leaving two federal stalking counts. None of the remaining state charges carries the death penalty, following a 2004 ruling by New York’s highest court that struck down the state’s death penalty statute.