The federal government will seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione for his alleged cold blooded assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan, US Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday.
“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,” Bondi wrote in a statement. “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.”
The 26-year-old alleged assassin is charged by prosecutors in both Manhattan federal and state court with the brazen killing.
The state case is currently farther along, with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office having secured an indictment from a grand jury.
But New York State prosecutors have not been able to seek capital punishment since the practice was outlawed in 2004.
It was not immediately clear Tuesday how or if Bondi’s decision would impact whether Mangione will go on trial in federal or state court first.
A federal jury would be required to sign off on the government’s push for the death penalty in order for Mangione to be executed.
Law enforcement sources have told The Post that the feds had been lobbied by the insurance industry to bring a case against Mangione, and that they were considering asking for the death penalty.
