Luigi Mangione: US prosecutors directed to seek death penalty for man accused of killing healthcare boss
Prosecutors are being urged to seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally shooting the chief executive of a major healthcare company last year.
In February, Mangione pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of murder following the killing of 50-year-old Brian Thompson outside a midtown Manhattan hotel in New York in December.
Mr Thompson was the CEO of UnitedHealthcare.
Now, US attorney general Pam Bondi has issued a statement saying she has “directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
From December: Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty
She added that the murder of Mr Thompson, an “innocent man and father of two young children”, was a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America”.
Ms Bondi said her intervention was part of President Donald Trump’s “agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again”.
She said that because the shooting happened in a public place with “bystanders nearby”, there could have been a “grave risk of death to additional persons”.
The US Department of Justice said Ms Bondi’s actions were in line with her “day one memo as attorney general” entitled “Reviving The Federal Death Penalty And Lifting The Moratorium On Federal Executions”.
Pam Bondi called the shooting a ‘premeditated, cold-blooded assassination’. File pic: AP
Mangione, 26, is accused of ambushing and shooting Mr Thompson as he walked to an investor conference.
He pleaded not guilty to New York state charges of murder and murder as an act of terrorism just before Christmas last year.
The death penalty is not used in New York, meaning Mangione faces life in prison without parole if convicted in those cases.
However, Mangione also faces a parallel indictment from the Manhattan federal court for Mr Thompson’s killing.
He has not been asked to enter a plea in that case but could face the death penalty if convicted.
He also faces charges of forgery, carrying firearms without a licence, and other counts in Pennsylvania, where authorities arrested him at a McDonald’s.
Read more:
Everyone has thoughts on Luigi – and it’s not all negative
Dozens turn out in support of Luigi over killing of healthcare boss
‘Decision to execute is political’
Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Mangione’s lawyer, said the district attorney’s direction to the prosecution means the justice department “has moved from the dysfunctional to the barbaric”.
She added: “Their decision to execute Luigi is political and goes against the recommendation of the local federal prosecutors, the law, and historical precedent.
“While claiming to protect against murder, the federal government moves to commit the pre-meditated, state-sponsored murder of Luigi. By doing this, they are defending the broken, immoral, and murderous healthcare industry that continues to terrorise the American people.”
She said Mangione’s lawyers are prepared to “fight these federal charges, brought by a lawless justice department” alongside the charges in New York State and Pennsylvania – “and anything else they want to pile on Luigi”.
Police said that upon his arrest, Mangione was in possession of a gun, bullets, multiple fake IDs and a handwritten document expressing “ill will” towards corporate America.
The killing prompted some to voice their resentment at US health insurers, with Mangione attracting a cult following.
A poll taken in the wake of the shooting showed most Americans believe health insurance profits and coverage denials were partly to blame for the incident.
Children are among the fatalities in a mass shooting at a child’s birthday party in California.
Police said four people had died and 10 were wounded in the incident in Stockton, about 60 miles east of San Francisco.
Officers were called on Saturday to a banquet hall just before 6pm local time (2am UK time) and district attorney Ron Freitas said children were among the dead.
He said the attacker was still at large.
First responders walk through a parking lot near the scene of a mass shooting in Stockton, California. Pics: AP
“We can confirm at this time that approximately 14 individuals were struck by gunfire, and four victims have been confirmed deceased,” San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said on X.
The post said early indications suggest it could be a “targeted incident” but that information remains limited.
Police have so far not disclosed the attacker’s identity and the motive is unclear.
Stockton’s vice mayor Jason Lee confirmed on Facebook that the shooting on Lucile Avenue happened at a child’s birthday party.
Pics: AP
Mayor Christina Fugazzi also said that “families should be together instead of at the hospital, standing next to their loved one, praying that they survive”.
California governor Gavin Newsom’s office added that he had been briefed on the “horrific shooting”.
Venezuela has accused Donald Trump of a “colonial threat” after he said the airspace “above and surrounding” the country should be considered closed “in its entirety”.
Mr Trump made the declaration amid growing tensions with President Maduro – and as the US continues attacking boats it claims are carrying drugs from Venezuela.
He wrote on Truth Social: “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”
Air traffic above Venezuela on Saturday afternoon. Pic: FlightRadar24
Venezuela’s foreign affairs office called it a “colonial threat” and “illegal, and unjustified aggression”.
It accused the president of threatening “the sovereignty of the national airspace… and the full sovereignty of the Venezuelan state”.
President Trump’s words were part of a “permanent policy of aggression against our country” that breached international law and the UN Charter, it added.
The Pentagon and the White House have so far not given any additional detail on the president’s statement.
Mr Trump’s post comes after the American aviation regulator last week warned of a “potentially hazardous situation” over Venezuela due to a “worsening security situation”.
Nicolas Maduro is widely considered a dictator by the West. Pic: Reuters
The South American nation revoked operating rights for six major airlines that went on to suspend flights to the country.
Mr Trump warned a few days ago that land operations against suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers would begin “very soon”.
Such a move would be a major escalation in Operation Southern Spear – the US naval deployment in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific that’s so far attacked at least 21 vessels.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Three killed as US strikes another alleged drug boat
Venezuela has said the attacks, which have killed more than 80 people, amount to murder.
The US has released videos of boats being targeted, but hasn’t provided evidence – such as photos of their cargo – to support the smuggling claims.
Read more:
Trump may have another motive in war on drugs
The US-Venezuela crisis explained
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Venezuela claims Trump creating ‘fables’ to justify ‘war’
The Pentagon has sought to justify the strikes by labelling the drug gangs as “foreign terrorist organisations” – putting them on par with the likes of al Qaeda.
It claims the boats targeted are carrying drugs bound for the US, although Sky’s chief correspondent says the final destination is likely to be Europe and West Africa.
President Maduro has denied Mr Trump’s claims he is involved in the drugs trade himself and said his counterpart wants to oust him so he can install a more sympathetic government.
Venezuelan officials have also claimed Mr Trump’s true motivation is access to the country’s plentiful oil reserves.
Mr Maduro is widely considered a dictator who’s cheated elections and has been president since 2013.
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment3 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024