Taiwo Popoola
United States federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
US attorney general, Pam Bondi, said Thompson was shot outside a Manhattan hotel on 4 December.
In a statement on Tuesday, Bondi said that she’s “directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty” for the accused because he allegedly committed “a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America”.
According to the attorney general, the move is to “carry out President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and make America Safe Again”.
Mangione, according to the prosecutors, had a spiral notebook in which he expressed hostility toward the health insurance industry and wealthy executives.
UnitedHealthcare has come out to say Mangione was never a client.
Among the entries, the complaint 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.
The accused person is facing both state and federal charges in connection with Thompson’s killing.
He has pleaded not guilty to the state charges and has not entered a plea to the federal ones.
