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.

Luigi Mangione appears in Manhattan Criminal Court for a status hearing in New York City on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. Magnione is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside of a Manhattan hotel last year. (Curtis Means/Pool)

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.

Attorney General Pam Bondi announced April 1 that the feds will urge a jury to seek the death penalty. 

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

A screenshot from surveillance footage released by the NYPD shows an alleged person of interest wanted in connection of the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday, December 4, 2024. (NYPD Crime Stoppers )

The CEO of UnitedHealthcare’s parent company mourned the killing of Brian Thompson and implored people to see that industry executives are trying their best with a flawed system. (AP Photo/UnitedHealth Group via the Associated Press)

Thompson, 50, was visiting New York City for a publicly announced shareholder conference. Mangione is accused of stalking him, then ambushing him outside the conference. He faces numerous charges, including terror-related murder, and allegedly wrote at length about his disgust with the health insurance industry.

He also faces state charges in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested after a weeklong manhunt in December 2024.

When he was arrested after being spotted in a Pennsylvania McDonald’s, law enforcement recovered a “ghost gun” and a notebook full of writings that they said revealed a well-planned homicide plot.

He has pleaded not guilty to all counts.