(NEW YORK) — Luigi Mangione is expected to plead guilty Friday to federal charges accusing him of stalking and killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Mangione has come to this point once before and backed out. If he moves forward with the anticipated guilty plea, he is guaranteed no leniency. According to sources, there is no plea bargain with federal prosecutors and Mangione could face life in prison.
A guilty plea could complicate Mangione’s murder prosecution in state court, where trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 8. His federal trial was set for Jan. 5.
Defense attorneys have already tried to dismiss the murder charges on double jeopardy grounds. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is prepared to move forward, arguing stalking and murder address different harms.
Members of Thompson’s family, including his widow, and executives from UnitedHealthcare are expected in the federal courtroom in Manhattan for Friday’s 11 a.m. hearing. Members of Mangione’s family are not expected to attend, sources said.
About three dozen members of the public — including at least one person who camped out in a tent overnight — lined up outside the courthouse Friday morning to try to secure a seat in the courtroom.
Mangione’s supporters are often outspoken during his hearings, but there were little-to-no demonstrators on Friday morning. And with the federal court limiting what members of the public can wear, Mangione’s supporters were not donning their normal shirts proclaiming his innocence.
Mangione is accused of gunning down Thompson on Dec. 4, 2024, in Midtown Manhattan, and he was captured in Pennsylvania after a five-day manhunt. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced that Mangione was indicted on first degree murder charges on Dec. 17, 2024, and federal prosecutors announced separate charges of stalking and murder on Dec. 19, 2024.
Mangione pleaded not guilty in the separate state and federal cases.
The charges in both cases have narrowed over the last year. In the federal case, U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett in January threw out the murder and firearm charges, leaving two counts: stalking – travel in interstate commerce and stalking – use of interstate facilities.
In the state case, Judge Gregory Carro last September dismissed the first-degree murder and terrorism charges. In the state case, Mangione is still charged with murder in the second-degree, criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second-degree, and multiple counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second-degree, third-degree and fourth-degree.
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