Lawyers for Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in a shocking daylight attack in December 2024, are urging a federal judge to block the Trump administration from pursuing the death penalty, calling it a "political stunt" motivated by the president’s crime agenda.
According to news agency AFP, in a court filing submitted Friday in Manhattan federal court, Mangione’s defence team sharply criticised attorney general Pam Bondi, who earlier this month directed federal prosecutors to seek capital punishment in the high-profile case.
Bondi labelled the killing “an act of political violence” and claimed it aligned with US President Donald Trump’s pledge to “Make America Safe Again” by cracking down on violent crime.
Mangione's lawyers argued the government had disregarded standard procedures for seeking the death penalty and accused Bondi of weaponising the justice system for political gain.
“The United States government intends to kill Mr. Mangione as a political stunt,” they wrote in the filing, according to The Hill. They also said the attorney general’s “explicitly and unapologetically political” decision prejudiced the grand jury process and undermined their client’s due process rights.
Mangione, a 26-year-old University of Pennsylvania graduate, allegedly travelled from Atlanta to New York City and stalked Thompson before shooting him outside a Hilton Hotel on December 4.
The CEO was reportedly attending an investor event hosted by UnitedHealth Group. Federal prosecutors said the suspect used a pistol with a silencer and fled the scene. He was captured five days later at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after a staff tip.
He has been charged in both New York state and federal court. While he has pleaded not guilty in the state case, where the maximum sentence is life without parole, he has yet to enter a plea in the federal case.
A grand jury indictment is still pending. According to CNBC, he faces federal charges including murder, stalking and firearms offences.
Mangione’s lawyers claim the attorney general's office failed to allow the defence time to present a mitigation submission, a routine step in federal death penalty cases. “Mr. Mangione’s counsel asked for three months to prepare a fulsome mitigation submission… and was ignored,” they stated.
They further challenged Bondi’s decision-making process, suggesting it was driven solely by presidential priorities. “Ultimately, any mitigation would have fallen on deaf ears in any event, as the Attorney General was plainly concerned only with ‘the President’s directive,’” the filing read, according to The Hill.
Public sentiment over the case has been sharply divided. While the murder shocked many, some social media users have portrayed Mangione as a symbol of anger over America's private health care system. Thompson's killing sparked widespread debate, with Bondi stressing that it “may have posed grave risk of death to additional persons,” according to AFP.
The defence has now requested that all internal and external communications regarding the death penalty decision be turned over, alleging the process has been irreparably compromised.
According to news agency AFP, in a court filing submitted Friday in Manhattan federal court, Mangione’s defence team sharply criticised attorney general Pam Bondi, who earlier this month directed federal prosecutors to seek capital punishment in the high-profile case.
Bondi labelled the killing “an act of political violence” and claimed it aligned with US President Donald Trump’s pledge to “Make America Safe Again” by cracking down on violent crime.
Mangione's lawyers argued the government had disregarded standard procedures for seeking the death penalty and accused Bondi of weaponising the justice system for political gain.
“The United States government intends to kill Mr. Mangione as a political stunt,” they wrote in the filing, according to The Hill. They also said the attorney general’s “explicitly and unapologetically political” decision prejudiced the grand jury process and undermined their client’s due process rights.
Mangione, a 26-year-old University of Pennsylvania graduate, allegedly travelled from Atlanta to New York City and stalked Thompson before shooting him outside a Hilton Hotel on December 4.
The CEO was reportedly attending an investor event hosted by UnitedHealth Group. Federal prosecutors said the suspect used a pistol with a silencer and fled the scene. He was captured five days later at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after a staff tip.
He has been charged in both New York state and federal court. While he has pleaded not guilty in the state case, where the maximum sentence is life without parole, he has yet to enter a plea in the federal case.
A grand jury indictment is still pending. According to CNBC, he faces federal charges including murder, stalking and firearms offences.
Mangione’s lawyers claim the attorney general's office failed to allow the defence time to present a mitigation submission, a routine step in federal death penalty cases. “Mr. Mangione’s counsel asked for three months to prepare a fulsome mitigation submission… and was ignored,” they stated.
They further challenged Bondi’s decision-making process, suggesting it was driven solely by presidential priorities. “Ultimately, any mitigation would have fallen on deaf ears in any event, as the Attorney General was plainly concerned only with ‘the President’s directive,’” the filing read, according to The Hill.
Public sentiment over the case has been sharply divided. While the murder shocked many, some social media users have portrayed Mangione as a symbol of anger over America's private health care system. Thompson's killing sparked widespread debate, with Bondi stressing that it “may have posed grave risk of death to additional persons,” according to AFP.
The defence has now requested that all internal and external communications regarding the death penalty decision be turned over, alleging the process has been irreparably compromised.
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