Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in the case against Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Bondi said on Tuesday that Thompson’s murder was “a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.”

“After careful consideration, I have directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case as we carry out President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again,” she said.

Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky will seek the death penalty in the case.

Thompson also served as the financial controller for UnitedHealthcare’s employer and individual business and as a director in corporate development.

U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi shake hands during his visit to the Department of Justice to address its workers, in Washington, D.C., March 14, 2025. (REUTERS/Nathan Howard)

Justice Department records show the federal government has executed 16 people since 2001, beginning with the deaths of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and, eight days later, American drug trafficker Juan Raul Garza, who had two men killed and executed a third himself.

Notably, 13 of those executions came during President Trump’s first term in office.

There are currently 40 federal inmates on death row, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, and the list includes surviving Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev as well as Dylann Roof, who massacred nine parishioners in a South Carolina church.

Fox News Digital reached out to Mangione’s attorneys.

Fox News’ Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.