NEW YORK, United States — Luigi Mangione has pleaded guilty to two federal stalking charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson.
He also admitted publicly for the first time that he shot Thompson.
“I shot Mr Thompson in Manhattan and he died,” Mangione told a federal court on Friday, August 14, 2026.
“I knew what I was doing was illegal,” he added.
US District Judge Margaret Garnett accepted the guilty pleas after questioning Mangione about whether he understood their consequences.
The 28-year-old now faces up to life in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for December 18.
No Plea Agreement With Prosecutors
Mangione pleaded guilty to interstate stalking resulting in death and stalking through the use of interstate facilities resulting in death.
His lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, told the court there was no plea agreement with federal prosecutors.
The government has instead recommended a sentence of between 292 and 365 months in prison.
Garnett is not required to follow that recommendation.
Thompson’s widow and other relatives attended the hearing.
Mangione told the court that he had travelled to New York and shot Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel on December 4, 2024. Thompson, 50, was heading to an investor conference when he was killed.
Mangione was arrested five days later in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
Federal prosecutors had initially brought additional murder and firearms charges that could have made Mangione eligible for the death penalty.
Garnett dismissed those counts in January, leaving the two stalking charges.
State Murder Trial Now Faces New Legal Question
The guilty plea could have major consequences for Mangione’s separate New York state prosecution.
He is scheduled to stand trial on September 8 on charges including second-degree murder, weapons possession and forgery.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty in that case.
His lawyers are expected to argue that the federal conviction prevents New York from prosecuting him again for conduct arising from Thompson’s killing.
New York has broader double-jeopardy protections than those provided under federal law and can, in some circumstances, prevent a state prosecution after another prosecution arising from the same conduct has ended in a guilty plea.
That does not mean the state case is automatically dismissed.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office has already indicated that it would oppose such an effort, arguing that the state murder charge is legally distinct from the federal stalking offences.
Justice Gregory Carro, who is overseeing the state case, would have to decide whether the prosecution can proceed. Any ruling could also trigger an appeal and potentially affect the September trial date.
Mangione acknowledged during Friday’s hearing that any sentence imposed in the state case could run consecutively to his federal punishment.
His guilty plea ends the prospect of a federal trial.
It also changes the central question surrounding the case: Mangione is no longer denying in federal court that he killed Thompson, but whether New York can still try him for murder remains unresolved.
Hope Sampson | Sub Editor
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