Mangione has been claiming that the separate federal and state prosecutions violate double jeopardy protections
Credit: David Dee Delgado-Pool/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty in federal court in connection with the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
- Mangione pleaded guilty to one count of interstate stalking resulting in death and one count of stalking through use of interstate facilities resulting in death, per reports
- A legal expert tells PEOPLE the guilty plea could affect Mangione’s state murder case
Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty in federal court to two crimes connected to the December 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Mangione entered a guilty plea to one count of interstate stalking resulting in death and one count of stalking through use of interstate facilities resulting in death, according to CNN and The New York Times.
At a New York City federal courthouse on Friday, Aug. 14, Mangione responded “yes” when U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett asked if he did intend to plead guilty, per CNN.
Mangione then reportedly read a statement in court, saying that after years of debilitating back pain, he researched UnitedHealthcare’s investor conference, posed at an investor and learned it was being held in New York.
Per the Times, Mangione said he 3D-printed a gun and put a silencer on it.
“I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan,” Mangione said, according to the paper, as Thompson’s family watched from the courtroom. “I understood that my actions would place him in fear of death or bodily injury. I knew what I was doing was illegal.”
Mangione, who faces up to life in prison, now awaits sentencing from Garnett, which was scheduled for Dec. 18.
According to the Times, Garnett informed Mangione he will have to serve at least 85% of his eventual sentence and that a potential conviction in state court could be added on.
The plea change comes just weeks before his scheduled state trial on murder charges also stemming from Thompson’s death. Jury selection is slated to begin on Sept. 8. But that could potentially be upended by the federal conviction.
For months, Mangione’s attorneys have argued that the dual prosecutions violated his Constitutional double jeopardy protections.
So far, Mangione’s double jeopardy claims have been unsuccessful, but a legal expert tells PEOPLE a guilty plea could change that.
“I think it’s a stronger argument to say he’s already been convicted in the federal system, and therefore, there’s a change in circumstance here, and the state case can’t proceed,” says Seth J. Zuckerman, a New York criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor.
With Mangione now having pleaded guilty, Zuckerman thinks it won’t be long before his attorneys subsequently file a motion arguing double jeopardy, possibly within the next week.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has signaled they will oppose that motion, meaning a judge would then have to rule on the motion.
Because of the short period of time between Mangione’s federal guilty plea and the start of jury selection, Zuckerman says he would be surprised if the state trial actually began on Sept. 8.
“Even on the quickest schedule, I see a very hard time for that schedule to be kept,” he says. “I presume whoever loses the double jeopardy motion is going to go to the Appellate Division for an emergency appeal.”
If the state case does go forward after the likely appeals are exhausted, there are obstacles that could get in the way of a potential trial.
If Mangione’s double jeopardy claims are rejected, Zuckerman says a state trial is still not a sure thing.
“[State prosecutors] may try to use his sworn plea allocution against him in the case,” Zuckerman says. “So I wouldn’t be surprised if they lose all the double jeopardy claims, he may even take a plea because it will be very difficult.”
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Thompson was gunned down outside a hotel in Midtown Manhattan. After a high-profile, multi-day manhunt, Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pa.
Mangione was indicted in both New York and federal court.
He is charged with eight felonies in New York, including second-degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty in his state case.
Since his arrest, Mangione has been incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Zuckerman suspects he will remain there until his state case is resolved.
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