Luigi Mangione indicted on death penalty-eligible charges

Luigi Mangione appeared at a February 21 court hearing in New York City on state charges related to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson late last year. (Curtis Means/Pool/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

NEW YORK — Luigi Mangione was indicted Thursday on a federal murder charge in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a necessary step for prosecutors to seek the death penalty.

The indictment returned by a grand jury in Manhattan federal court also charges Mangione with two counts of stalking and a firearms count.

It was not immediately clear when the 26-year-old Mangione will be arraigned. A message seeking comment was left for a spokesperson for his lawyers.

Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family, also faces separate state murder charges. He’s accused of shooting Thompson, 50, in the back outside a Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4 as the executive arrived for UnitedHealthcare’s annual investor conference.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced this month that she had directed federal prosecutors in Manhattan to seek the death penalty, following through on the president’s campaign promise to vigorously pursue capital punishment.

It’s the first death penalty case sought by the Justice Department since President Donald Trump returned to office in January with a vow to resume federal executions after they were halted under the previous administration.

The killing and ensuing five-day manhunt leading to Mangione’s arrest rattled the business community, with some health insurers hastily switching to remote work or online shareholder meetings.

It also galvanized health insurance critics — some of whom have rallied around Mangione as a stand-in for frustrations over coverage denials and hefty medical bills.

Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting Thompson from behind. Police say the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were scrawled on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase commonly used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.

Michael R. Sisak And Larry Neumeister, The Associated Press