Luigi Mangione lawyers seek to dismiss federal charges in CEO killing
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On Saturday, Luigi Mangione’s lawyers asked a federal judge in Manhattan to dismiss several federal charges, including the only one that could carry the death penalty.
In court filings reviewed by Fox News Digital, the defense argued that prosecutors overstepped federal law and went overboard in sensationalizing the murder. They also said the case should be heard in state court, not federal court.
His lawyers also said prosecutors should be barred from using his statements to law enforcement at trial, arguing that Mangione was not read his Miranda rights at a McDonald’s before being questioned. They then argued that nothing he said should be accepted.
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Luigi Mangione appeared in Manhattan Supreme Court in New York City on December 23, 2024. His defense asked a federal judge in Manhattan to dismiss several federal charges, including the only one that could carry the death penalty. (Curtis stands for DailyMail/Pool)
They also allege that police searched the backpack containing the gun and ammunition after his arrest without a warrant, violating Fourth Amendment protections against unlawful searches.
Newspapers argued that the death penalty charge should be dismissed because prosecutors failed to identify other crimes needed to convict him, and wrote that the other alleged crime – stalking – was not a crime of violence.
Murder cases are usually handled in state courts, but prosecutors also charged Mangione with murders committed with a firearm as other “crimes of violence” under federal law. This is the only charge for which Mangione could face the death penalty, as it is not used in New York state.
Luigi Mangione is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York in December. (AP Photo/UnitedHealth Group via AP)
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Mangione is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Dec. 4 outside a Manhattan hotel where the insurance company was hosting an investor conference. The execution-style murder was caught on camera; Prosecutors alleged that Mangione targeted Thompson due to financial and corporate disputes.
Mangione fled the scene but was captured days later.
The assassination and its aftermath captured Americans’ imagination, triggering a flood of anger and online criticism against U.S. health insurers, while also rattling corporate executives concerned about safety.
Mangione had already pleaded not guilty. His lawyers said the government’s case relied heavily on circumstantial evidence and procedural overreach, not evidence of intent or organized criminal activity.
Luigi Mangione, accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, appeared in Manhattan state court in New York on September 16, 2025. Mangione, right, is represented by Karen Friedman Agnifilo. (Pool via Steven Hirsch of the New York Post)
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Last month, Mangione’s lawyers requested that Mangione’s federal charges be dismissed and the death penalty taken off the table, as a result of public statements by Attorney General Pam Bondi. In April, Bondi instructed prosecutors in New York to seek the death penalty, calling Thompson’s killing “a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.”
Mangione is represented by high-profile New York defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo, who is also a former Manhattan prosecutor and former CNN legal analyst.
Judge Miriam Goldberg of the Southern District of New York made oral arguments for December 5.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
