Luigi Mangione Expected to Plead Guilty in Federal Stalking Case

Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan, is expected to enter a guilty plea on Friday in federal court. The plea would relate to federal stalking charges, according to sources familiar with the matter.

A guilty plea would bring an end to the federal trial, which was scheduled for January. Mangione had previously pleaded not guilty in April 2025 to murder, weapons, and stalking charges brought by federal prosecutors.

In a surprise ruling in January, U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett dismissed the murder and weapons charges on legal technicalities. That decision removed the possibility of the death penalty, though Mangione still faced the prospect of life in prison without parole on the stalking counts.

Separately, Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state charges of terrorism, murder, weapons, and forgery brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. A judge threw out the terrorism charges in September 2025. A state trial is scheduled to begin on September 8 before Justice Gregory Carro.

Thompson was shot dead in the early morning outside a Manhattan hotel where an investor conference was being held. The killing, captured on graphic video, and the subsequent five-day manhunt made the case a media sensation. Mangione was arrested in Pennsylvania.