NEW YORK — Luigi Mangione, the 28-year-old former software engineer charged in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in 2024, pled guilty Friday to two federal stalking charges and admitted in open court that he planned and carried out the killing.
“On the morning of December 4, 2024, I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan and he died,” Mangione told U.S. District Judge Margaret M. Garnett in Manhattan federal court. “He added that he understood his actions would place Thompson in fear of death or serious bodily injury and that “I knew what I was doing was illegal.”
The plea came without any agreement with prosecutors. Mangione faces a maximum sentence of life in prison on each count when he is sentenced December 18. Federal prosecutors said they intend to seek the maximum penalty.
Thompson, 50, a father of two from Minnesota, was shot from behind outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel on December 4, 2024, as he walked to UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference. The early-morning attack was captured on video and triggered a five-day nationwide manhunt. Mangione was arrested December 9, 2024, at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after a customer recognized him from surveillance images. Authorities said they recovered a 3-D-printed 9 mm pistol equipped with a silencer, a silencer-equipped magazine, a notebook and a fake New Jersey driver’s license in his backpack.
In a prepared statement read to the court, Mangione described years of severe back pain following an injury and surgery. He said frustration with the health insurance system led him to research UnitedHealthcare’s conference. He posed as an investor managing more than $50 billion in assets, emailed company leadership for details on the event’s location and received a rapid reply. He then used a 3-D printer to fashion part of a firearm, equipped it with a silencer and magazine, traveled to New York and waited for Thompson.
“My travel to New York and email to UnitedHealthcare was with the intent to shoot Brian Thompson,” Mangione said.
Judge Garnett advised Mangione that he faces a possible life term on each count, that there is no parole in the federal system and that he would be required to serve at least 85 percent of any sentence imposed.
Thompson’s widow, Paulette Thompson, and other family members attended the hearing.
In a statement, the family said: “Today’s guilty plea marks an important step toward justice for Brian and for our family. While nothing will ease the pain of losing him, we are grateful that the federal justice system has held the person responsible for this heinous act accountable. Now we look to the court to ensure that sentencing reflects the severity of this crime. We remain mindful that additional proceedings in New York and Pennsylvania are still to come, and we will continue to seek the justice Brian deserves.”
U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald for the Southern District of New York said outside the courthouse that his office had offered no accommodations or concessions.
“While the defendant pleaded guilty, our office does not have a plea agreement with him,” McDonald said. “There are no accommodations or concessions, and we are free to seek the maximum penalty under the law.” He added: “No grievance, political belief, or ideological cause can ever justify murder. There can be no celebrity in assassination.”
Mangione’s attorneys, including Karen Friedman Agnifilo, immediately filed a motion in state court seeking dismissal of pending New York charges, which include second-degree murder and multiple weapons counts. They argued the federal plea covers the same underlying conduct and that further prosecution would violate New York’s double-jeopardy protections.
A state trial had been scheduled to begin September 8, 2026, before Justice Gregory Carro. The Manhattan District Attorney’s office said it remains prepared to litigate the motion and is committed to seeking justice for Thompson and his family.
Earlier federal murder and weapons counts that could have carried the death penalty were dismissed by Judge Garnett in January on legal grounds. State terrorism-related charges were also previously dismissed. Mangione, who holds dual U.S. and Italian citizenship, grew up in a prominent Maryland family and is a University of Pennsylvania graduate with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science.
