Luigi Mangione pleads guilty on federal charges – key points at a glance
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Luigi Mangione has pleaded guilty to federal stalking charges in the 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, telling the judge: “I shot Mr Thompson in Manhattan and he died.”
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Mangione said that “after years of enduring severe back pain, a broken back, navigating the obstacles of the health system,” he learned that UnitedHealthcare would be holding it’s annual investor convergence in December 2024. The location was not public but he traveled to New York City and emailed UnitedHealthcare leadership, posing as an institutional investor, to get more information, getting a response within an hour.
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He also researched who would be attending. Mangione then said he printed a gun with a 3-D printer and affixed it with a silencer. “I shot Mr Thompson in Manhattan and he died,” he continued. “When I did so, I understood that my actions would place him in fear of death or serious bodily injury. I knew what I was doing was illegal.”
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Judge Margaret Garnett accepted the plea and will sentence Mangione on 18 December. Mangione’s lawyer also confirmed to the judge that there is no plea agreement with the government. He will remain in federal custody as he awaits sentencing. He faces life in prison.
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Mangione, 28, entered the plea at a hastily scheduled hearing in Manhattan federal court this morning, resolving one of two cases against him in connection with Thompson’s killing. With this guilty plea, his lawyers could seek to have the state case – for which he has pleaded not guilty to murder and is scheduled to go on trial next month – thrown out on double jeopardy grounds.
Brian Thompson’s family called the plea “an important step toward justice”. “Now we look to the court to ensure that sentencing reflects the severity of this crime,” the family said in a statement. “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.
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Meanwhile, Luigi Mangione’s defense team filed a motion to have the state murder case dismissed on double jeopardy grounds, one of his attorney’s, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, told reporters outside the courthouse. She said Mangione had been “unfairly treated since the outset” and was “being prosecuted twice for the same conduct”. “Today’s guilty plea triggers [New York’s state’s double jeopardy] statue and we just filed our motion in state court explaining why the state charges must be dismissed under the state’s double jeopardy protections,” she said.
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The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said, “We are encouraged that Mr. Thompson’s family received a measure of accountability today.” It added that it is “prepared to litigate the defense motions”.
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Jamie McDonald, the US attorney for the southern district of New York, told reporters that his office does not have a plea agreement with Mangione and said that it would seek the maximum sentence of life in prison. He added that “there can be no celebrity in assassination”, and that “any person who celebrates, encourages or excuses actions like these is fundamentally wrong … Violence is not a legitimate instrument to promote any political or social message.”
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UnitedHealth Group – UnitedHealthcare’s parent company – said: “Brian Thompson’s life was cut short by an act of violence that devastated everyone who knew and loved him. We are grateful to law enforcement for bringing Brian’s murderer to justice, and our thoughts remain with Brian’s family and loved ones during this difficult time.”
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Also speaking outside the courthouse following the guilty plea, NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch hailed this as “an important moment of accountability” in Brian Thompson’s killing.
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“My thoughts remain first and foremost with Mr. Thompson’s family and everyone who knew and loved him,” she said, and also commended the “extraordinary police work that brought us here”.
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She ended her statement with this message:
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And to those who idolize Luigi Mangione, I say this: Violence is not a cause. Murder is not a message, and a killer is certainly not a hero.
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Following Luigi Mangione’s guilty plea in the federal case against him, his defense team has just filed a motion in state court, triggering double jeopardy to dismiss the state murder case, one of his attorney’s Karen Friedman Agnifilo told reporters outside the courthouse. The state trial is set for 8 September.
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Here are Friedman Agnifilo’s full comments:
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With today’s guilty plea, Mr Mangione has accepted full responsibility for the death of Brian Thompson.
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It was a single tragic event, yet he’s being prosecuted twice for the same conduct.
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As Luigi explained in court today, he endured years of severe, debilitating pain following a broken back, while struggling to navigate our healthcare and health insurance systems.
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Like the thousands of people who have reached out since this tragedy to share their own experiences, he believed that the system had failed him and destroyed his life.
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Despite this being a single isolated event, Mr Mangione has been unfairly treated since the outset in every way, and have successfully fought off terrorism charges and the death penalty, while also fighting at the same time two simultaneous prosecutions in two jurisdictions, who are punish him twice for the exact conduct.
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He’s been treated differently from every other defendant charged with this offence in New York. However, thankfully, New York law does not … permit a person to be prosecuted and punished twice for the exact same crime … It’s also known as the double jeopardy law.
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Today’s guilty plea triggers this statue and we just filed our motion in state court explaining why the state charges must be dismissed under the state’s double jeopardy protections.
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Brian Thompson’s family has issued this statement.
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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.
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