Luigi Mangione is expected to plead guilty Friday to federal stalking charges carrying life sentences in connection with the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson — a move that could have major implications for his upcoming murder trial.
A guilty plea would mark a dramatic turnaround for the 28-year-old, who has long maintained his innocence and previously pleaded not guilty as he barrels towards a separate high-stakes murder trial in New York state court.
The Department of Justice does not know whether Mangione will agree to plead guilty, but prosecutors would pursue a life sentence if he does, a source familiar with the matter told The Daily Wire.
The New York Times stressed that negotiations over a potential plea remain “sensitive” and could collapse at any moment.
In his federal case, the Maryland native faces one count of interstate stalking resulting in death and one count of stalking through the use of interstate facilities resulting in death. Both charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison, according to the Department of Justice. A judge tossed out a firearms charge that would’ve made Mangione eligible for the federal death penalty.
“Mangione planned his attack for months and stalked his victim for days before murdering him — methodically planning when, where, and how to carry out his crime,” then-Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said at the time.
In state court, Mangione faces eight charges, including second-degree murder, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years to life. If he pleads guilty in federal court, his lawyers may argue that New York’s double-jeopardy protections prevent state prosecutors from trying him for murder because the state charges stem from the same criminal act as the federal case, the Times reported.
“If a plea in the Federal case against Luigi Mangione is indeed being announced tomorrow, it sure seems the timing is intended to block the State trial,” Rich Schoenstein, a trial lawyer, said on X. “Whether that succeeds remains to be seen.”
“The State is a separate sovereign, and the charges are arguably quite different. If New York wants the trial to go forward anyway, it has an argument, and the issue will be hotly contested,” he added.
The legal drama comes days after The Daily Wire reported that the high-profile murder case will proceed with an anonymous jury and expanded courtroom access after a judge finalized several key details ahead of the September proceedings.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro ruled that the identities of jurors will be kept from the public during the trial, which is scheduled to begin September 8 and is expected to last roughly six weeks.
The anonymous jury comes as prosecutors warn that Mangione’s sizable and highly vocal supporter base could pressure witnesses and potential jurors.
“The media attention surrounding this case — and the efforts of some of the defendant’s supporters both to intimidate witnesses and to interfere with the functioning of the jury — will place extraordinary pressure on witnesses and potential jurors alike,” Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann wrote in a Monday letter to Carro obtained by Fox News.
Prosecutors had asked the court to limit access to the proceedings and raised concerns that supporters could secretly record proceedings in an overflow room and distribute the footage. Carro nevertheless ordered that an overflow room be made available for members of the media and the public, after Mangione’s attorneys argued that limiting courtroom access would unfairly restrict coverage of the case.
The judge also warned that anyone who takes out a cellphone in either the courtroom or the overflow room will be removed.
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