The death penalty requested for Luigi Mangione

Attorney General Pam Bondi revealed she has ordered prosecutors from the Department of Justice to seek the death penalty in the case of the murder of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare.

Luigi Mangione, 26 years old, is accused of the murder of Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, killed on December 4 in New York, a crime that had triggered a large manhunt.

Mangione will be judged before the United States District Court in Manhattan for federal crimes related to Thompson’s murder, perpetrated in front of the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan.

He is facing, among other things, accusations of murder, harassment, and firearms law violations.

Attorney General Pam Bondi stated in her announcement that after careful consideration, she had ordered federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in the case against Mangione.

According to Bondi, her decision is part of the guidelines of the ‘President Trump agenda’ aiming to strengthen security in America.

She added that Brian Thompson, an innocent victim and father of two young children, was killed in a premeditated and cold-blooded murder that «shocked America».

Bondi qualified this murder as an act of political violence. She also highlighted that by committing this crime in public, when many people were nearby, Mangione seriously endangered the lives of other individuals.

After Thompson’s murder on December 4, a massive manhunt was launched across New York to find the suspect.

Mangione was arrested on December 9 after being spotted in a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He was then extradited to New York to face murder charges.

Luigi Mangione’s next federal court hearing is scheduled for April 18th. Mangione is also facing state-level murder charges and will have to appear at a state court hearing in June.