Luigi Mangione pleads guilty to federal stalking, raising double-jeopardy questions in CEO murder case

Luigi Mangione, a former data engineer and University of Pennsylvania graduate, pleaded guilty to a federal stalking count tied to the Dec. 4, 2024 shooting of UnitedHealthcare chief Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel. Authorities say Mangione planned the attack weeks in advance, motivated by anger over the U.S. health-insurance system, and left bullet casings marked with cryptic words at the scene. After a week-long search, he was captured at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s after a tip from an employee.

In court, his lawyers have already secured dismissals of several federal and state charges, including a potential death-penalty murder count. The new guilty plea arrives shortly before his state murder trial scheduled for September 8, and prosecutors are expected to argue that the federal stalking conviction does not trigger New York’s double-jeopardy bar because the offenses address different harms. Judge Margaret Garnett set a December 18, 2026 sentencing date for the federal case, while Judge Gregory Carro will decide whether the state trial proceeds.