DOJ to Seek Death Penalty for Luigi Mangione in High-Profile CEO Murder Case

New York, April 1, 2025 – The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced today that it will seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel on December 4, 2024. Attorney General Pam Bondi, in a statement released this morning, directed federal prosecutors to pursue capital punishment, marking the first such move under President Donald Trump’s second administration and signaling a aggressive return to federal executions.

A “Cold-Blooded Assassination”

Mangione, a University of Pennsylvania graduate, allegedly stalked and gunned down Thompson in Midtown Manhattan as the executive approached the Hilton Hotel for an investor conference. The DOJ labeled the killing “a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America,” citing its public nature and the “grave risk of death” it posed to bystanders. Thompson, 50, a father of two, was shot multiple times with a 9mm pistol equipped with a silencer, a detail prosecutors say underscores the attack’s meticulous planning.

“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,” Bondi said. The decision aligns with Trump’s January 30 executive order reinstating the death penalty’s use “wherever possible,” reversing a Biden-era moratorium that halted federal executions since mid-2021.

A Case That Gripped the Nation

The murder sent shockwaves through the business community and beyond, igniting a firestorm of debate over America’s healthcare system. Mangione, arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after a nationwide manhunt, was found with a “ghost gun,” fake ID, and a notebook railing against the health insurance industry. Authorities allege he targeted Thompson to “spark a public discussion” about corporate greed, a motive that has turned him into a polarizing figure—vilified by some, celebrated by others as a folk hero.

Mangione faces parallel state and federal prosecutions. In New York, he pleaded not guilty in December to 11 state charges, including first-degree murder “in furtherance of terrorism,” which carries a maximum of life without parole. Federally, he’s charged with murder through use of a firearm, interstate stalking resulting in death, and firearms offenses—counts that make him death-penalty eligible. Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky for the Southern District of New York will oversee the federal case, though Mangione has yet to enter a plea as an indictment is pending.

Trump’s Death Penalty Push

The DOJ’s move fulfills a cornerstone of Trump’s 2024 campaign, which promised to resume federal executions after overseeing 13 in his first term’s final months—the most in nearly two decades. Biden’s December commutation of 37 death row sentences left only three inmates facing execution, all tied to mass shootings or terrorism, setting a high bar Mangione’s case now meets. Bondi, a Trump loyalist, lifted the Biden moratorium in March, vowing to seek death sentences “in appropriate cases and swiftly implement them.”

Mangione’s legal team, led by Karen Friedman Agnifilo and bolstered in February by death-penalty expert Avraham Moskowitz, signaled a fierce defense. Agnifilo, who has called the overlapping state and federal cases “unprecedented,” had no immediate comment on Bondi’s announcement but has previously decried her client’s treatment as a “human spectacle.” A GiveSendGo fundraiser has raised over $720,000 for his defense, reflecting a vocal online fanbase frustrated with healthcare inequities.

A Divisive Path Ahead

The decision has split public reaction. Supporters on X hailed it as “excellent news” for justice, with one user writing, “This guy needs to fry—the crime is unforgivable.” Critics, however, see it as a politicized overreach, pointing to Mangione’s Ivy League pedigree and the healthcare debate his actions inflamed. “It’s Trump flexing muscle, not justice,” one post read, echoing concerns from Democrats like Senator Cory Booker, who last week protested Trump’s broader agenda.

As Mangione awaits trial at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, the case promises to test not just his fate but the nation’s appetite for capital punishment in an era of heightened division. With the state trial expected first, followed by a federal showdown, the road to a potential execution—requiring a unanimous jury—looms long and contentious. For now, the DOJ’s bold step has thrust Luigi Mangione back into the spotlight, a symbol of both crime and consequence in Trump’s America.