Luigi Mangione, who stands accused of stalking and murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, will now also face federal charges. An indictment has been filed in the Southern District of New York.

Luigi Mangione, the suspect accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan on Dec. 4, 2024, has been federally indicted.

The indictment filed against Mangione in the Southern District of New York charges him with stalking and murdering Thompson, using interstate travel, electronic communications, and a firearm.

The federal charge of murder through the use of a firearm carries a maximum sentence of death, if convicted.

This not only heaps on the charges Mangione already faces, but also is a step away from New York’s notoriously lax justice system, and puts the death penalty on the table.

The federal grand jury in New York on Thursday accused the 26-year-old of traveling across state lines by bus to stalk Thompson, with the intent to harass, intimidate, and kill.

The stalking, they allege, culminated in Mangione using a firearm to commit murder. Authorities allege that he used the weapon “knowingly and in furtherance of the crimes.”

It adds that the firearm Mangione used was brandished, discharged, and equipped with a silencer, which further elevates the severity of the charges.

The indictment accuses him of acting with reckless disregard for human life, noting that he intentionally murdered Thompson. His actions, prosecutors allege, put others at serious risk and were carried out with substantial premeditation.

From what we know of the case, this would seem to go beyond “reckless disregard” and on to “deliberate bloodthirstiness.” Mangione is accused not just of a reckless killing but a deliberate, planned assassination.