Luigi Mangione should face death penalty for ‘cold-blooded assassination’: US A-G

US Attorney-General Pam Bondi has ordered prosecutors to seek the death penalty in the Luigi Mangione case, calling the slaying of a CEO father of two an “assassination”.

The federal government will seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione for his alleged cold-blooded assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan, US Attorney-General Pam Bondi said Tuesday.

“Luigi Mangione’s murder of Brian Thompson — an innocent man and father of two young children — was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America,” Bondi wrote in a statement.

“After careful consideration, I have directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case as we carry out President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again.”

Ms Bondi also called the murder “an act of political violence” that “may have posed grave risk of death to additional persons.”

Luigi Mangione, accused killer of US insurance CEO Brian Thompson. US Attorney General Pam Bondi on April 1, 2025 asked federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for him. Picture: AFP

US Attorney General Pam Bondi. Picture: AFP

The 26-year-old alleged assassin is charged by prosecutors in both Manhattan federal and state court with the brazen killing.

The state case is currently farther along, with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office having secured an indictment from a grand jury.

But New York State prosecutors have not been able to seek capital punishment since the practice was outlawed in 2004.

It was not immediately clear how or if Ms Bondi’s decision would impact whether Mangione will go on trial in federal or state court first.

A federal jury would be required to sign off on the government’s push for the death penalty in order for Mangione to be executed.

Law enforcement sources have told The Post that federal investigators had been lobbied by the insurance industry to bring a case against Mangione, and that they were considering asking for the death penalty.

Luigi Mangione (C), accused killer of US insurance CEO Brian Thompson, arrives for a hearing in New York City. Picture: AFP

Luigi Mangione, accused of fatally shooting the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, wears ankle cuff during a court hearingn in New York. Picture: Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool, File

Mangione has pleaded not guilty and could face life imprisonment with no parole if convicted.

Early on December 4, Mangione allegedly tracked Thompson, walked up behind him and fired several gunshots from a pistol with a silencer, federal prosecutors said. He had traveled to New York by bus from Atlanta about 10 days before the crime.

Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9 following a tip from staff at a McDonald’s restaurant, after a days-long manhunt.

His lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo has sought clarity on how simultaneous federal and state charges would work, calling the situation “highly unusual.”

Thompson’s murder brought to the surface deep public frustration with the lucrative US commercial health care system, with many social media users painting Mangione as a hero.

– With the New York Post

Originally published as Luigi Mangione should face death penalty for ‘cold-blooded assassination’: US A-G