Luigi Mangione, Facing Stalking Charges in Federal Court, Is Expected to Plead Guilty
New York Times · LC · trust 57/100
He is charged with stalking resulting in the death of an executive, but the specifics of his plea were unclear. A murder trial in state court is set for next month.
Listen · 5:26 min Share full article If Luigi Mangione pleads guilty, his lawyers seem certain to seek a dismissal of his state charges on double jeopardy grounds. Credit... Pool photo by David Dee Delgado By Benjamin Weiser Devlin Barrett and Hurubie Meko
Mr. Mangione was set to go on trial in federal court in January for the stalking charges in connection with the killing of Brian Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, charges that carry a potential life sentence. Mr. Mangione is not charged with murder in the federal case. The two people spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the ongoing talks, which could fall apart before or even during a scheduled hearing in federal court on Friday.
The potential plea in the federal case comes less than a month before Mr. Mangione, 28, is scheduled to go on trial on a state murder charge on Sept. 8 for Mr. Thompson’s killing.
Mr. Mangione’s legal team did not respond to a request for comment. When asked at an unrelated news conference on Wednesday about a potential plea, Jamie McDonald, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, said there was a court conference scheduled for Friday, adding, “That’s all we can say at this time.”
Mr. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him, in both federal and state court.
Mr. Thompson’s killing on one of the most congested patches of America — Midtown Manhattan — and the five-day manhunt that followed riveted the country, leaving many people horrified, but others rallying to support a gunman who some saw as protesting the nation’s health insurance industry.
It was unclear what charges Mr. Mangione would plead guilty to on Friday, and he could reverse his decision at the last minute, even during the court hearing itself.
We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Read the original at New York Times →
Open in TruthVane →