Mangione pleads guilty in federal court, leaving fate of state trial uncertain

Luigi Mangione appears for a pre-trial hearing at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, on Tuesday. In federal court, Mangione pleaded guilty on federal stalking charges. Steven Hirsch/Pool New York Post hide caption

Luigi Mangione, the 28-year-old accused of killing a health care executive on a Manhattan street, pleaded guilty to stalking charges in federal court Friday.

Mangione faced those charges in connection with the December 2024 shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Sentencing will happen at a later date. Earlier this year, a federal judge struck down charges that might have brought the death penalty.

Mangione still faces murder charges in a state trial set to begin next month, but his guilty plea in federal court is expected to have significant impacts on the state trial. New York state's strict double jeopardy law could potentially upend those proceedings. That law says that a defendant can't be tried twice for the same thing.

Mangione's defense team is expected to argue for the judge to toss Mangione's state charges, given the federal guilty plea. If successful, that legal maneuver could spare Mangione a longer prison term. State prosecutors have argued their case is distinct, and that double jeopardy should not apply.

The case has drawn global attention and media scrutiny. Elected officials across the political spectrum have condemned what they described as politically-motivated violence but Mangione has won strong public support . He's viewed by many as a vigilante whose actions against an unfair health care system were justified. Supporters have donated more than $1.5 million to his legal defense fund, according to a website run by pro-Mangione volunteers.

Thompson was a 50-year-old father of two. He was walking alone in midtown Manhattan hours before he was to host an investor conference at a hotel when he was fatally shot.