Attorney General Pam Bondi has called for Luigi Mangione to be charged with a capital crime, seeking the death penalty. The 26-year-old allegedly shot and killed the CEO of health insurance giant UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson, near Times Square in New York last December. After a five-day manhunt, Mangione was arrested in Pennsylvania on several state and federal charges.
Attorney General Bondi’s request refers to federal charges of murder, stalking, and possession of a firearm that can result, in extreme cases, even in the death penalty. On the other hand, the maximum for state crimes is life in prison. “Luigi Mangione’s murder of Brian Thompson—an innocent man and father of two young children—was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America. After careful consideration, I have directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case as we carry out President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again,” Bondi wrote in a statement posted on the DOJ’s website.
Bondi is calling for the death penalty because according to her, Thompson’s murder “was an act of political violence. Mangione’s actions involved substantial planning and premeditation and because the murder took place in public with bystanders nearby, may have posed grave risk of death to additional persons.” Last December, investigators, while on the 26-year-old’s trail, had reconstructed Mangione’s movements in New York and, upon his arrest, found on him false documents, the gun with which he allegedly killed the UnitedHealthcare CEO, and a three-page letter–a manifesto written by him in which he explained his motives.
In recent months, while Mangione was being held in federal prison in Brooklyn, investigators have also found an old Reddit account of his where the 26-year-old recounted that he had undergone spine surgery that allegedly caused him chronic back pain. Presumably, this could be one of the reasons that prompted him to take action. However, representatives of UnitedHealthcare reported that the young man was not insured with the company.
The murder of Brian Thompson became a major media sensation due to its shocking nature and the high-profile status of the victim–not to mention the way it was carried out in public. The calculated nature of the crime, with Mangione allegedly stalking Thompson and planning the attack meticulously, added to the intrigue.
The case sparked broader debates about healthcare practices and the greed of insurance companies. Indeed, in the wake of the murder and the search for the suspect, Mangione became a national hero, a sort of Robin Hood figure who took on the frustrations of the public and their conflicts with the healthcare industry. The bullet casings found at the crime scene where Mangione allegedly killed Brian Thompson were reportedly etched with the words “delay,” “deny,” and “depose,” which many believe reference the book Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It. Mangione reportedly expressed hostility toward the industry in a notebook found by authorities.
The federal charges, including the possibility of the death penalty, and the involvement of high-ranking officials like Attorney General Pam Bondi have further amplified the case’s visibility.
