Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty to federal murder charge

NEW YORK CITY (FOX 9) - Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty during an arraignment on Friday inside a Manhattan courtroom, a week after he was indicted on federal charges in the December killing of Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Mangione, 26, is accused of gunning down Thompson, 50, in December 2024. UnitedHealthcare is the largest health insurer in the United States. 

What happened in court on Friday?

Why you should care:

The 26-year-old stood with his lawyers as he entered the plea, leaning forward toward a microphone as U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett asked him if he understood the indictment and the charges against him. 

Mangione said, "yes." Asked how he wished to plead, Mangione said simply, "not guilty" and sat down.

Mangione’s arraignment attracted several dozen people to the federal courthouse in Manhattan. Mangione, who has been held in a federal jail in Brooklyn since his arrest, arrived to court in a mustard-colored jail suit.

A meeting is set for Dec. 5 to determine a trial date for 2026. She also reports that the federal court will try him first, before the state court.

Click here for live updates from court from FOX 5 New York. 

What happened last week?

Mangione was indicted on federal charges last Thursday, including a charge of murder through use of a firearm, which carries the possibility of the death penalty.

Earlier this month, Attorney General Pam Bondi said she was directing prosecutors to seek the death penalty. Mangione's defense has asked a federal judge to throw out the possibility of the death penalty before the indictment. In a fiery back-and-forth through court filings, prosecutors said it was too early for the defense to move to have the death penalty taken off the table.

The indictment also charges him with stalking and a gun offense.

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. Friday's hearing is related to the federal case.

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.

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

The other side:

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.

What happened on Dec. 4, 2024?

The backstory:

In the early morning hours of Dec. 4, 2024, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, was shot and killed in an ambush-style attack outside of Manhattan's New York Hilton Midtown Hotel, where he was scheduled to speak at an annual investor conference on behalf of the Fortune 500 company.

The masked killer, wearing a distinctive gray backpack and black hooded jacket, was caught on chilling footage walking up behind Thompson, raising a handgun with glove-covered hands. The culprit fires off several rounds, shooting the CEO in the back.

Shell casings found at the scene were etched with the words "delay," "deny" and "depose," seemingly reflecting the criticism of the healthcare industry.

According to investigators and security footage, the attacker escaped by riding a bike to Central Park and ditching evidence there before hailing a cab to the George Washington Bridge Bus Station and fleeing the city by bus.

Police released several images of the alleged attacker before Luigi Mangione, 26, was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, five days later. There, a McDonald’s customer noticed that Mangione looked like the person in surveillance photos police were circulating of the gunman, prosecutors said.

The killing of Thompson, a chief executive, sent shock waves throughout the corporate world; meanwhile, Mangione attracted a cult following as a stand-in for frustrations over coverage denials and hefty medical bills.

Crime and Public SafetyNews