LUIGI MANGIONE PLEADED GUILTY TO 2 FEDERAL STALKING COUNTS
Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty to two federal stalking counts and told a judge he shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan.
Mangione, 28, entered the plea on August 14, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Margaret M. Garnett. The counts were interstate stalking resulting in death and cyberstalking through use of interstate facilities resulting in death. Each carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, the Justice Department said.
CNN reported that Mangione told the court, “I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan and he died.” He added, “I knew what I was doing was illegal.”
Thompson was killed outside the New York Hilton Midtown on December 4, 2024, while in town for UnitedHealthcare’s annual investor conference.
What Mangione told the court
The plea was entered without a plea agreement, and no sentencing range was agreed between the defense and federal prosecutors. Garnett accepted the plea and told Mangione the maximum possible federal sentence was life imprisonment.
CNN reported that Mangione said he researched the location and attendees of the investor conference. He said he posed as an investor to learn information about the event.
Federal prosecutors recounted security footage they said showed Mangione arriving in New York and following Thompson around Midtown in the days before the shooting.
Thompson’s widow and other family members were in court and visibly emotional. CNN correspondent Kara Scannell described the widow as “breathing heavily, clasping the arm of the woman sitting next to her.”
Family members gasped after a prosecutor said Thompson was aware of what was happening between the first and second bullets, CNN reported.
Mangione’s lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said he had accepted “full responsibility for the death of Brian Thompson.” She argued he was being prosecuted twice for the same conduct.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch called the day “an important moment of accountability” in a statement outside Manhattan Criminal Court. A UnitedHealth Group spokesperson said the company was “grateful to law enforcement for bringing Brian’s murderer to justice.”
Former federal prosecutor Berit Berger told CNN it was “very likely” the judge would impose life imprisonment or a sentence close to it. That was her assessment, not a court ruling.
Mangione remains in federal custody. He is scheduled to be sentenced on December 18, 2026.
What happened next in the state case
Mangione had pleaded not guilty in both the federal and state cases before changing his federal plea. The New York indictment includes a second-degree murder count, weapons counts and a forged-instrument count, CNN reported. A judge had previously dismissed the top terror-related murder counts and another weapons charge.
On the day of the federal plea, Mangione’s defense filed a motion to dismiss the state murder and weapons charges. The motion argues that New York’s double-jeopardy protections apply after the federal guilty plea.
“We just filed our motion in state court explaining why the state charges must be dismissed under New York’s double jeopardy protections,” Agnifilo said after the hearing.
CNN legal analyst Elliot Williams said New York’s law could be broader than the federal constitutional protection. He said it bars prosecution of crimes arising from the same criminal transaction.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said it was “prepared to litigate the defense motions” and remained committed to seeking justice for Thompson and his family.
State jury selection had been scheduled to begin on September 8, 2026. CNN later reported that the trial was effectively postponed while the motions are resolved. Judge Gregory Carro ordered prosecutors to respond to the motion and set the next hearing for December 10.
On October 9, 2026, Manhattan prosecutors formally opposed Mangione’s bid to dismiss the state indictment. ABC News reported that a judge is expected to rule in December.
