US prosecutors will seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson outside a hotel in New York City in December.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Tuesday that the killing “was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America”.
“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,” she said in a statement.
The case attracted broad attention and many Americans took to social media to express support for Mr Mangione's alleged actions. Within hours of Mr Thompson's death, thousands of people had posted on social media or newspaper comment sections to react with glee and celebrate the shooter as a vigilante hero.
Many of the posters had had health insurance claims denied or faced unexpected costs under the US's notoriously dysfunctional healthcare system. Mr Mangione, 26, faces separate federal and state murder charges. The federal charges include a charge of murder through use of a firearm, which carries the possibility of the death penalty.
According to prosecutors, Mr Mangione had a spiral notebook in which he expressed hostility towards the health insurance industry and wealthy executives. UnitedHealthcare is the largest health insurer in the US, though the company said Mr Mangione was never a client.
Among the entries, the complaint said, was one from August 2024 that said “the target is insurance” because “it checks every box”, and one from October that describes an intent to “wack” an insurance company chief executive.
The maximum punishment on the state charges is life in prison. Mr Mangione has pleaded not guilty to a state indictment and has not entered a plea to the federal charges.
