Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty to federal charges on August 14, 2026, and revealed his motive for shooting and killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan sidewalk in December 2024.
Mangione entered the plea while appearing in court at the 40 Foley Square courthouse in New York City, where he was facing two federal counts of interstate stalking resulting in death. Each count carries a maximum penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
After Mangione’s lawyers told Judge Margaret Garnett that he was prepared to plead guilty, the judge directly asked him to confirm the plea. “Yes,” Mangione responded, according to The New York Times.
Mangione was then sworn in and asked several questions regarding his state of mind. He insisted his mind was clear before he pleaded guilty to the federal charges and revealed why he committed the crime.
Details of Mangione’s motive for the shooting, below.
Luigi Mangione Explains Why He Killed Brian Thompson
After he entered the plea, Mangione spoke out about the shooting and pointed to his own experience with the American health insurance system as the motivating factor.
“After years of enduring severe pain from a broken back, navigating the obstacles of the health insurance system … I learned that UHC would be holding an annual investor conference in NYC on December 4, 2024,” he said, according to Courthouse News reporter Erik Uebelacker.
Mangione confessed he traveled to New York with the “intent to shoot Brian Thompson” using a 3D-printed gun.
“On the morning of December 4, 2024, I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan and he died,” he said. “When I did so, I understood that my actions would place him in fear of death or serious bodily injury.”
Mangione is scheduled to be sentenced on December 18, 2026. His attorneys said that a plea deal was not reached before he decided to plead guilty.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office Responds to Luigi Mangione’s Plea
Following the plea, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said that it had “been tirelessly preparing to pursue a trial conviction in New York State Supreme Court for the alleged cold-blooded murder of Brian Thompson” since December 2024.
“We are encouraged that Mr. Thompson’s family received a measure of accountability today. While federal sentencing is pending, we are prepared to litigate the defense motions,” the DA’s statement continued. “The Manhattan D.A.’s Office remains committed to seeking justice for Mr. Thompson and his family.”
Mangione is still facing several charges in the state case, which include second-degree murder, various criminal possession of a weapon counts and criminal possession of a forged instrument. Prior to the plea, he was facing the potential of life in prison if he was found guilty in either the federal or state case.
Brian Thompson Was Fatally Shot Outside a Manhattan Hotel in December 2024
Thompson was fatally shot while he was walking to a Manhattan hotel to attend UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference in December 2024. Surveillance footage captured a gunman using a weapon with “delay,” “deny” and “depose” written on the ammunition as he shot at Thompson.
The words written on the weapon seemingly mimicked a phrase that has been used to describe how insurers in the healthcare field avoid paying claims.
Following an intense manhunt, Mangione was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He had gone off the grid for months prior to the incident.
Mangione previously pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges. He entered his guilty plea in the federal trial months before it was scheduled to take place in January 2027. Meanwhile, his state trial is scheduled to begin on September 8, 2026.
Prosecutors Say a Gun and Notebook Link Luigi Mangione to the Killing
The case has garnered national attention and continues to be highly publicized more than a year and a half after the crime.
During the May 18, 2026, hearing, New York State Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro determined that a gun and notebook can be used as evidence in the case after prosecutors argued that the items link Mangione to the killing.
Prosecutors said that the gun, a 3D-printed pistol and matches that were used to kill Thompson connect Mangione to the crime scene. Additionally, prosecutors said that the notebook includes a section in which he said he wanted to “wack” a health insurance executive and that he was rebelling against “the deadly, greed fueled health insurance cartel.”
Prosecutors initially pursued the death penalty for Mangione. However, a federal judge dismissed the death-eligible firearm murder charges he was previously facing in January 2026, and he is no longer able to be considered for the death penalty.
Luigi Mangione Plans to Assert a Psychiatric Defense in His State Trial
Ahead of his guilty plea in the federal case, Mangione’s team laid out a very different strategy for the state trial. In June 2026, Judge Carro said that Mangione’s lawyers informed him they will attempt to show a jury that he was suffering from “extreme emotional disturbance at the time of the occurrence.”
If the defense is successful, Mangione’s murder charge would be reduced to first-degree manslaughter, which carries a maximum of 25 years in prison. It is different from a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, which would send him to a psychiatric facility rather than prison.
Carro shared the update two weeks after he held a secret hearing about the new argument. He said he will unseal redacted records pertaining to the June 3, 2026, hearing, as well as the defense’s move to take a psychiatric defense in the case.
“The reasons for the sealing was to give the defense an opportunity to determine whether they were going forth with that defense and the nature of that defense,” Carro said.
Mangione’s lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo argued that unsealing the transcript from the secret hearing and the materials they plan to use in the psychiatric defense would ultimately harm her client in his federal case.
“The reason why we asked for the sealing is that this defense is not available federally and Mr. Mangione is being prosecuted federally and this is prejudicial to his defense to the exact same facts,” she said, per the outlet.
Also during the June hearing, Carro dismissed a charge related to a gun magazine. He said that the charge was inadmissible because it was found during an initial search of Mangione’s backpack at the time he was arrested. The judge ordered Mangione’s legal team to turn over information regarding his psychiatric condition no later than June 18, 2026, so that prosecutors could have their own expert evaluate him.
With the federal guilty plea now entered, Mangione awaits his December 18, 2026, federal sentencing while his state trial remains scheduled for September 8, 2026.
This story was compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists.
