Luigi Mangione has pleaded not guilty to a federal murder charge in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as prosecutors formally declared their intent to seek the death penalty against him.
Mangione, 26, stood with his lawyers as he entered the plea, leaning forward toward a microphone as US District Judge Margaret Garnett asked him if understood the indictment and the charges against him.
Mangione said, “yes.” Asked how he wished to plead, Mangione said simply, “not guilty” and sat down.
The formal process of putting charges to Mangione for the killing last December attracted several dozen people to the federal courthouse in Manhattan, including former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, who served around seven years in prison for stealing classified diplomatic cables.
Mangione has been held in a federal jail in Brooklyn since his arrest.
Late on Thursday night, federal prosecutors filed a required notice of their intent to seek the death penalty.
That came weeks after US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that she would be directing federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for what she called “an act of political violence” and a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.”
It was the first time the Justice Department said it was pursuing capital punishment since President Donald Trump returned to office on 20 January with a vow to resume federal executions after they were halted under the Biden administration.
Mangione’s lawyers have argued that Bondi’s announcement was a “political stunt” that corrupted the grand jury process and deprived him of his constitutional right to due process.
They had sought to block prosecutors from seeking the death penalty.
Mangione’s federal indictment includes a charge of murder through use of a firearm, which carries the possibility of the death penalty.
The indictment, which mirrors a criminal complaint brought after Mangione’s arrest also charges him with stalking and a gun offense.
Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family, faces separate federal and state murder charges after authorities say he gunned down Thompson, 50, outside a Manhattan hotel on 4 December as the executive arrived for UnitedHealthcare’s annual investor conference.
The state murder charges carry a maximum punishment of life in prison.
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.
The killing and ensuing five-day search leading to Mangione’s arrest rattled the business community, with some health insurers deleting photos of executives from their websites and switching to online shareholder meetings.
At the same time, some health insurance critics have rallied around Mangione as a stand-in for frustrations over coverage denials and hefty medical bills.
Mangione was arrested on 9 December in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 370 kilometres west of New York City and whisked to Manhattan by plane and helicopter.
Police said Mangione had a 9mm handgun that matched the one used in the shooting and other items including a notebook in which they say he expressed hostility toward the health insurance industry and wealthy executives.
