Date set for Luigi Mangione arraignment on death penalty-eligible charges

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 previous administration.

Luigi Mangione will be arraigned next week on federal charges, including murder and stalking, in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, allegations that could get him the death penalty if convicted.

Mangione's hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET next Friday. A federal grand jury in Manhattan returned the four-count indictment a day ago.

It 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 last December, also charges him with stalking and a gun offense.

Mangione’s lawyers have argued that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's announcement this month 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.