Prosecutors directed to seek federal death penalty against UnitedHealthcare killing suspect Luigi Mangione

Federal prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione, the man accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan sidewalk.

"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," U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a news release Tuesday morning. "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."

Mangione, 26, an Ivy League graduate who comes from a prominent Maryland family, has been charged in state and federal jurisdictions in Manhattan. He was also charged in Pennsylvania.

In January, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing the Justice Department to renew use of the death penalty. This came after President Joe Biden had declared a moratorium on capital punishment for most federal offenders in 2021.

Federal prosecutors charged him in December with murder, stalking and gun charges after he was extradited from Altoona, Pennsylvania, where he allegedly fled after the shooting.

Preparation for the two New York cases is expected to proceed simultaneously. But the state case, on murder in furtherance of terrorism and other charges, is to be tried first.

Mangione's attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo of Agnifilo Intrater LLP, said in a statement: "By seeking to murder Luigi Mangione, the Justice Department has moved from the dysfunctional to the barbaric. Their decision to execute Luigi is political and goes against the recommendation of the local federal prosecutors, the law, and historical precedent ... While claiming to protect against murder, the federal government moves to commit the premeditated, state-sponsored murder of Luigi.

The statement continued: "Luigi is caught in a high-stakes game of tug-of-war between state and federal prosecutors, except the trophy is a young man’s life."

The public was gripped by the killing of the health care executive on Dec. 4, which was caught on video surveillance outside the Hilton hotel in midtown during a planned company meeting.

The alleged shooter fled the scene, according to police, leading to a five-day search.

A worker in an Altoona McDonald’s spotted Mangione on Dec. 9 and alerted local police that he looked like the suspect in Thompson’s killing.

When police arrested Mangione, they found a gun, ammunition and a notebook that was termed a "manifesto" railing against the U.S. health insurance industry.

Mangione’s defense lawyer in Pennsylvania has charged that the police search violated his client's civil rights. He wants the evidence suppressed at trial.