Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty to murder in federal death penalty case

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

Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty to federal charges including murder and stalking Friday at his arraignment in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Mangione, having already pleaded not guilty to state charges, entered the not guilty plea to the four federal charges, which also include a firearms offense that could be punishable by the death penalty. Prosecutors formally notified the court of their intent to seek the death penalty ahead of Friday's hearing.

Mangione isn't due back in court until December. A trial date will be determined at that hearing. It should be some time next year.

A federal grand jury in Manhattan returned the indictment against Mangione last week. The indictment, which mirrors a criminal complaint brought after his arrest last December.

Mangione’s lawyers have argued that Attorney General Pam Bondi's announcement ordering prosecutors to seek the death penalty was a “political stunt” that corrupted the grand jury process and deprived him of his constitutional right to due process.

Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family, faces separate federal and state murder charges after authorities said he gunned down Thompson, 50, outside a Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4 as the executive arrived for UnitedHealthcare’s annual investor conference.

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.