Luigi Mangione Pleads Guilty to Stalking Charges Tied to Murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO

MARY CHASTAIN AUG 14, 2026 11:53 AM

Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty to stalking charges connected to the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City in 2024.

“I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan,” Mangione said in court. “I understood that my actions would place him in fear of death or bodily injury. I knew what I was doing was illegal.”

The judge told Mangione to tell the court why he is guilty:

He begins by saying that after years of enduring severe pain from an injured back and navigating the insurance system, he learned that UnitedHealthcare would be holding its annual investor conference in New York City on Dec. 4, 2024. Although the specific location was not publicly disclosed, he said, he researched the event online.He says that he traveled to New York City and emailed UnitedHealthcare leadership, posing as an investor, to get information about the conference. He said he got a response within an hour.Mangione said that he printed a gun with a 3-D printer and affixed it with a silencer.

U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York Jamie McDonald said the office has not entered into a plea agreement with Mangione.

McDonald’s office will seek life in prison.

Sentencing takes place on December 18.

The guilty plea means his lawyers could ask the state to dismiss charges against him, including second-degree murder. From Axios:

Why it matters: Mangione was facing a potential life sentence if convicted in a federal trial, and the guilty plea could mean his lawyers ask to dismiss separate state charges, including second-degree murder.

• Mangione’s legal team has argued that charging him in both federal and state courts constituted double jeopardy, a legal protection that prevents a person from being charged twice for the same offense.
• His trial over the two charges — interstate stalking resulting in death and stalking through use of interstate facilities resulting in death — was scheduled for January 2027. He had previously pleaded not guilty.
• During Friday’s hearing, the judge told Mangione he will still be required to serve up to 85% of his sentence for the federal charges. The date for his sentencing has not been announced.

Remember, Mangione still faces state charges as I mentioned above, including murder.

Mangione only faced two federal charges after a federal judge dropped two charges in January:

• Count Three: 18 U.S.C. § 924(j) – murder of Thompson through the use of a firearm during and in relation to the stalking crimes charged in Counts One and Two.
• Count Four: 18 U.S.C. § § 924(c)(1)(A)(i),(ii),(iii) and (c)(1)(B)(ii) – use of a firearm, which was brandished, discharged, and equipped with a silencer, during and in relation to the stalking crimes charged in Counts One and Two.

Mangione recently demanded the court livestream his murder trial. His lawyers wanted a list of the journalists covering the trial.

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