Edward Y. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Merrick B. Garland, the Attorney General of the United States; James E. Dennehy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”); and Jessica S. Tisch, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced the unsealing today of a Complaint charging LUIGI NICHOLAS MANGIONE in connection with the December 4, 2024, murder of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan. MANGIONE was taken into federal custody today and will be presented this afternoon in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker.
Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said: “Brian Thompson was gunned down in cold blood as he walked down a street in midtown Manhattan. Thompson was allegedly killed just because he held the position of chief executive officer of a health insurance company. As alleged, Luigi Mangione traveled to New York to stalk and shoot Thompson in broad daylight in front of a Manhattan hotel, all in a grossly misguided attempt to broadcast Mangione’s views across the country. But this wasn’t a debate, it was murder, and Mangione now faces federal charges. This Office and its law enforcement partners remain steadfast in our commitment to fight violence in whatever form it takes.”
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said: “Today, the Justice Department has brought federal murder charges against Luigi Mangione. As alleged, Mangione planned his attack for months and stalked his victim for days before murdering him — methodically planning when, where, and how to carry out his crime. I am grateful to our state and local law enforcement partners for their tireless efforts to locate and apprehend the defendant and to ensure that he answers for his alleged crime.”
FBI Assistant Director James E. Dennehy said: “Luigi Mangione allegedly conducted the carefully premeditated and targeted execution of Brian Thompson to incite national debates. This alleged plot demonstrates a cavalier attitude towards humanity – deeming murder an appropriate recourse to satiate personal grievances. Through continued close partnership with the NYPD, the FBI maintains our steadfast commitment to fervently pursue any individual who promotes a personal agenda through violence.”
NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said: “NYPD detectives worked relentlessly to identify and widely distribute images of the suspect who allegedly carried out this premeditated, preplanned, targeted murder, and they are committed to assisting prosecutors in seeing this important case through to its rightful conclusion. This senseless incident highlights the critical role of the public in the NYPD’s public safety mission, and I thank everyone who saw something, said something, and did something. It is because of the public’s actions that we now have an alleged killer in custody back in New York City.”
As alleged in the Complaint:
Over the course of the last several months, MANGIONE meticulously planned the execution of Brian Thompson in an effort to initiate a public discussion about the healthcare industry. MANGIONE targeted the victim, tracked his whereabouts, and traveled from out of state to New York City, where the victim was scheduled to attend the company’s investor conference. After arriving in the City on November 24, 2024, more than one week before the murder, MANGIONE performed reconnaissance in the area around the victim’s hotel and the conference venue where the victim was scheduled to speak. Using a false identification, MANGIONE checked into an Upper West Side hostel.
In the early morning hours of December 4, 2024, MANGIONE traveled by bicycle from the Upper West Side to the area around West 54th Street and Sixth Avenue. At approximately 6:45 a.m., MANGIONE strategically placed himself in between two cars on West 54th Street, and as the victim passed by, MANGIONE walked up behind the victim and fired several gunshots from a 9mm pistol causing the victim’s death. The pistol was equipped with what appeared to be a firearm sound suppressor or silencer. After the murder, MANGIONE fled on his bicycle northbound through Central Park and ultimately back to the Upper West Side.
On December 9, 2024, MANGIONE was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania while he sat in a fast-food restaurant after being recognized by one of the restaurant’s workers. Members of the Altoona Police Department confronted MANGIONE, who provided the same false identification that he used when checking-in to the Upper West Side hostel. MANGIONE was also found in possession of, among other things, a 9mm pistol and a sound suppressor consistent with the weapon used to kill the victim.
MANGIONE, 26, of Towson, Maryland, is charged with one count of using a firearm to commit murder, which carries a maximum potential sentence of death or life in prison; one count of interstate stalking resulting in death, which carries a maximum potential sentence of life in prison; one count of stalking through use of interstate facilities resulting in death, which carries a maximum potential sentence of life in prison; and one count of discharging a firearm that was equipped with a silencer in furtherance of a crime of violence, which carries a maximum potential sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years.
The maximum and minimum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Kim praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force and the NYPD.
Mr. Kim also thanked the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which has brought a separate prosecution against MANGIONE, which is currently expected to proceed to trial before the federal case.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dominic A. Gentile, Jun Xiang, and Alexandra Messiter are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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