Luigi Mangione’s lawyers seek dismissal of federal charges in assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO
Luigi Mangione is escorted into Manhattan state court in New York City on Sept. 16, 2025.AP
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Lawyers Ask Judge to Dismiss Some Charges in UnitedHealthcare CEO Killing
Lawyers for Luigi Mangione asked a federal judge in New York on Saturday to dismiss certain criminal charges against him, including the only count that could carry the death penalty, in connection with the December assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Luigi Mangione appears in Manhattan Supreme Court for a hearing on Sept. 16, 2025.CURTIS MEANS/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock
In filings in Manhattan federal court, Mangione’s attorneys also argued that prosecutors should be barred from using his statements to law enforcement and evidence from his backpack, where a gun and ammunition were found. They claim Mangione was not read his rights before questioning and that officers did not have a warrant when they searched his backpack.
Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to both state and federal charges in Thompson’s fatal shooting on Dec. 4, when Thompson was arriving at a Manhattan hotel for his company’s investor conference.
The killing triggered a multi-state manhunt after Mangione allegedly fled the scene, biking to Central Park and then taking a taxi to a bus depot serving nearby states. Five days later, a tip from a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania—about 233 miles from Manhattan—led to his arrest. He has been held without bail since.
UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down by a masked assassin outside the Midtown Hilton Hotel on Dec. 4, 2024.Obtained by NY Post
Brian Thompson’s alleged killer is captured on a surveillance camera inside the HI Hostel on the Upper West Side.DCPI
The Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, NY, where Luigi Mangione is being held without bail.REUTERS
Last month, Mangione’s lawyers requested dismissal of the federal charges and removal of the death penalty, citing public statements by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. In April, Bondi directed prosecutors in New York to pursue the death penalty, calling Thompson’s killing a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.”
While murder cases are generally handled in state court, federal prosecutors charged Mangione under a law covering murders committed with firearms during other “crimes of violence.” This federal count is the only one that could carry the death penalty, as New York state law does not allow it.
In their filings Saturday, Mangione’s attorneys argued the federal charge should be dismissed because prosecutors have not identified the other necessary crimes for conviction. They contended that the alleged underlying offense—stalking—does not qualify as a crime of violence. Investigators noted that the words “delay,” “deny,” and “depose” were written on ammunition at the scene, echoing a phrase used by critics of the insurance industry.
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