Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty to federal charges in murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO

The murder suspect pleaded not guilty in a hearing on Friday, with the charges from the Department of Justice bringing a possible death sentence if he is convicted, CNBC reported. He has also been charged in the state of New York for the killing.

Mangione allegedly shot Thompson multiple times from behind as the CEO was walking out of the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. Thompson was at an investor’s conference for the healthcare company.

He was arrested several days later at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania, where police found writings in a notebook he had in his backpack railing on the healthcare industry. When he appeared before Judge Margaret Garnett on Friday, he entered the not guilty plea.

Earlier in April, Attorney General Pam Bondi declared that the DOJ would seek charges in the case and would seek the death penalty for Mangione.

“Luigi Mangione’s murder of Brian Thompson — an innocent man and father of two young children — was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America. 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 in a press release at the time.

In a court filing submitted by federal prosecutors on Thursday, the DOJ wrote, “The United States believes the circumstances of the offense charged in Count Three (Intentional Participation in an Act Resulting in Death) are such that, in the event of a conviction, a sentence of death is justified.”

The filing from the DOJ added that Mangione “presents a future danger because he expressed intent to target an entire industry, and rally political and social opposition to that industry, by engaging in an act of lethal violence.”

Garnett warned lawyers in the hearing that there should not be public commentary on the case, citing that Mangione needs to be provided a fair trial.

“I’m specifically directing the government to convey my directive to Mr. Clayton and request that he convey the same to Attorney General Bondi and her associates at main Justice,” Garnett said. Jay Clayton is the interim Manhattan US Attorney, and “main Justice” can be read as the DOJ.