Luigi Mangione is expected to plead guilty Friday to federal charges in connection with the 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The expected plea change comes less than a month before Mangione, 28, is scheduled to go to trial in a state murder case in connection with the fatal shooting of Thompson, 50, a father of two.
Lawyers for Mangione declined to comment. The Justice Department and a court spokesperson also declined to comment.
It is unclear if Mangione will plead guilty to one or both of the two stalking-related charges in his federal case. While details of Mangione’s plea are not immediately clear, he could reverse his decision at any time, even during the hearing.
Sources familiar with the matter stressed that plea negotiations are ongoing and that nothing is final until Mangione himself accepts or enters into a plea deal.
If he is convicted, he could face a life sentence.
NBC New York reported Tuesday the possibility of a plea deal and, in June, that defense lawyers had talks with federal prosecutors about a possible plea deal before a scheduled hearing, and that an agreement had at least once appeared close.
Legal experts say plea talks are common before most trials. NBC News legal analyst Danny Cevallos said that if a plea deal is reached in the federal case, New York law may bar a subsequent state prosecution for the same conduct.
The Justice Department initially sought the death penalty for Mangione in his federal case, which U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett blocked in January.
If Mangione pleads guilty to the federal charges, his lawyers are expected to seek dismissal of some or all of the charges in his state case. Jury selection in that case is set to begin next month. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office declined to comment.
In his state case, Mangione pleaded not guilty to eight felony charges, including second-degree murder and several counts related to criminal possession of a weapon. If he is convicted in the New York case, he faces the possibility of life in prison.
Lawyers for Mangione have been arguing since the beginning of both cases that their client is a victim of double jeopardy.
Mangione is accused of fatally shooting Thompson as he walked alone outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan in December 2024, hours before UnitedHealthcare was set to host an investor conference at the hotel.
A dayslong, multistate manhunt for the masked man seen in surveillance footage gunning down Thompson on the street gripped the world.
It concluded with Mangione’s arrest at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Upon his arrest, authorities confiscated a notebook prosecutors say belonged to Mangione and contained plans to kill Thompson.
Thompson’s killing and Mangione’s arrest have prompted wider debates about the unpopular U.S. healthcare system and its high costs.
Mangione has become some sort of folk hero to some and referenced by some charged with other crimes. He has regularly attracted supporters to his pretrial appearances.
