Luigi Mangione pleads guilty in federal court to fatally shooting healthcare CEO

Luigi Mangione mug shot.

Luigi Mangione admitted to fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024, pleading guilty in federal court in Manhattan on Friday. 

Under oath, Mangione, 28, pleaded guilty to one federal count of interstate stalking resulting in death, and one federal count of stalking through use of interstate facilities resulting in death, crimes that each carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.

“I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan,” Luigi Mangione told U.S. District Judge Margaret M. Garnett, according to The New York Times. “I understood that my actions would place him in fear of death or bodily injury. I knew what I was doing was illegal,” Mangione went on to say. When Garnett asked Mangione for his plea to the two charges, he responded, "Guilty."

Garnett asked whether Mangione felt he was of clear mind in the courtroom on Friday, and Mangione replied, "I do." At one point, she asked Mangione to describe in his own words how and why he committed the murder. He said he was motivated by years of back pain he claims to have suffered as well as his grievances with the health insurance system.

He said he eventually discovered that UnitedHealthcare was holding its annual investors conference in New York City on Dec. 4, 2024, although the exact location of the event wasn't made public by the company. Mangione said he then emailed UnitedHealthcare and lied about being an investor and was quickly supplied with information on where the event was taking place.

“Before traveling to New York, I used a 3-D printer to make a gun,” Mangione told the court, according to The New York Post. “I equipped the gun with a silencer and a magazine," he said, matching what surveillance footage had shown of a masked gunman approaching Brian Thompson, the 50-year-old CEO, from behind on a Manhattan sidewalk and fatally shooting him in the back. Garnett accepted Mangione's guilty plea and told him that while sentencing wouldn't happen on Friday, he should expect to serve at least 85% of his sentence. Garnett scheduled Mangione's sentencing for December 18, 2026.

Thompson's family was in the courtroom on Friday, according to NBC News, including his mother, Pat Thompson, and his widow, Paulette Thompson, who sat in the first row along with other members of his family.

After the guilty plea, the Thompson family issued a statement, The New York Times reported. “While nothing will ease the pain of losing him, we are grateful that the federal justice system has held the person responsible for this heinous act accountable,” the statement said. “Now we look to the court to ensure the sentencing reflects the severity of this crime.” The family added Friday's guilty plea "marks an important step toward justice for Brian and for our family."

Mangione still faces charges in New York state, including a second-degree murder charge, multiple charges for criminal possession of a weapon and a second-degree charge for possession of a forged instrument. Jury selection in the state trial is set to begin on September 8. Outside the courtroom after the guilty plea, Mangione's lead attorney said his defense team filed a motion in state court to have the cast dismissed on double jeopardy grounds.

Below, watch as U.S. attorney James McDonald addressed the media after the guilty plea.