Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare’s CEO on a Manhattan sidewalk last year, was indicted in federal court on charges of murder, stalking and a firearms offense, CNN reports.
Luigi Mangione is facing both state and federal charges for the December 4 killing of Brian Thompson in a case that has exposed the public’s deep anger and frustration with the US health care system and insurance companies.
Federal prosecutors unsealed charges against Luigi Mangione late last year, but he had not yet been indicted on those charges until now.
The federal charge of murder through the use of a firearm carries a maximum sentence of death, if convicted. Attorney General Pam Bondi has said that the Department of Justice will seek the death penalty in its case against Mangione.
Luigi Mangione has previously pleaded not guilty to New York state charges of murder and terrorism.
Earlier this month after the Justice Department said they would seek the death penalty, Mangione’s attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo said, “We are prepared to fight these federal charges, brought by a lawless Justice Department, as well as the New York State charges, and the Pennsylvania charges, and anything else they want to pile on Luigi.”
In February, Mangione added an attorney experienced in death penalty cases to his legal team. Avraham Moskowitz has represented more than 50 defendants charged in death penalty-eligible cases in New York, according to court filings and Mangione’s attorneys.
New York state case to go forward first
Mangione is accused of gunning down Thompson as the executive walked toward a hotel hosting UnitedHealthcare’s annual investor conference in Midtown Manhattan late last year.
The shooting and subsequent dayslong manhunt captured national attention as investigators shared details of Mangione’s alleged writings and words on bullets found at the scene.
Mangione is being held in federal custody in Brooklyn, New York, though officials have said his case in New York state court will go forward first.
He was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on 11 counts, including one count of murder in the first degree and two counts of murder in the second degree, along with other weapons and forgery charges. He faces a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted on the state charges.
The first-degree murder charge alleges he killed the executive “in furtherance of an act of terrorism,” which is legally defined as an intent to intimidate or coerce the civilian population or a government unit. One of the second-degree counts also alleges Mangione committed murder “as a crime of terrorism.”
The 26-year-old also faces state charges in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested after a weeklong manhunt.
When he was arrested after being spotted in a Pennsylvania McDonald’s, law enforcement recovered a “ghost gun” and a notebook full of writings that they have said revealed a well-planned homicide involving stalking his alleged victim.