Luigi Mangione indicted on federal charges before court appearance

NEW YORK - Accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione was indicted on federal charges Thursday, a day before his scheduled court appearance in the December killing of CEO Brian Thompson. 

The indictment filed against Mangione in the Southern District of New York charges him with stalking and murdering Thompson, using interstate travel, electronic communications, and a firearm.

It was not immediately clear when the 26-year-old Mangione will be arraigned. 

Mangione, an Ivy League graduate, is accused of gunning down Thompson, the 50-year-old head of UnitedHealthcare, the largest health insurer in the U.S.

Read the full indictment here.

What we know about the federal case against Luigi Mangione

Dig deeper:

Mangione faces separate federal and state charges, and the prosecutors previously stated that the two cases will proceed on parallel tracks. Today's news is related to the federal case.

Federal charges

Mangione’s federal charges include murder through use of a firearm, which carries the possibility of the death penalty. The state charges carry a maximum punishment of life in prison. 

• Stalking, two counts
• Murder through use of a firearm, one count
• Using a firearm equipped with a silencer while committing a crime of violence, one count

What prosecutors are saying

What they're saying:

According to authorities, Mangione had a 9mm handgun that matched the one used to kill Thompson during his arrest in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Investigators said he was also carrying a passport, fake IDs and about $10,000.

The federal complaint filed in December also stated that Mangione had a spiral notebook that included several handwritten pages expressing hostility toward the health insurance industry and wealthy executives. Among the entries, prosecutors said, was one from August 2024 that said "the target is insurance" because "it checks every box" and one from October that describes an intent to "wack" an insurance company CEO.

Moreover, the complaint points to surveillance images of the apparent shooter at the hotel where the attack took place, in a taxi, at a hostel and escaping the murder scene by bike.

Read the federal complaint (U.S. v Mangione) here.

In April, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said she had directed prosecutors to seek the death penalty against Mangione, following through on the president’s campaign promise to vigorously pursue capital punishment. She called Thompson's killing a "premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America."

What the defense is saying

Mangione has not yet been required to enter a plea on the federal charges but pleaded not guilty to the state indictment.

His legal team has taken several defense actions against state and federal prosecutors. His Pennsylvania lawyer, Thomas Dickey, is challenging the legality of evidence obtained during his arrest, arguing that Altoona police conducted an illegal search of his backpack without a warrant and detained him without reading his Miranda rights. Lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo is looking to exclude similar evidence in his New York case.

Friedman Agnifilo described the parallel state and federal caseload as a "highly unusual situation," likening his treatment to being a "human ping pong ball" between jurisdictions. She criticizes the public "perp walks" orchestrated by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, calling them "absolutely unnecessary" and politically motivated.

Despite the legal challenges, Mangione has garnered significant public support, with a fundraising page collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars.

➡️Latest Luigi Mangione case updates and news from FOX 5 NY

Further reading

• Legal topics: Court appearances | Trial updates | Charges | Evidence: search; arrest | Motive & "manifesto" | Death penalty | Legal team
• The Backstory: The killing of Brian Thompson | Manhunt to arrest: Timeline | Who is Luigi Mangione | Luigi’s family | Who was Brian Thompson

Luigi Mangione TrialNew York