August 15, 2026 — 2:23amNew York: Luigi Mangione admitted to fatally shooting health insurance chief executive Brian Thompson, pleading guilty to federal charges and immediately filing to have his state murder trial voided under double jeopardy provisions.The 28-year-old told a federal courtroom in New York on Friday (US time): “On the morning of December 4, 2024, I shot Mr Thompson in Manhattan, and he died.”A courtroom sketch depicts Luigi Mangione sitting between his attorneys on August 14.APHe pleaded guilty to stalking the insurance executive resulting in death - serious charges that could result in a lifetime prison sentence, as US District Judge Margaret Garnett reminded him on Friday.The brazen crime, early in the morning on a midtown Manhattan street, shocked the world. It also generated sympathy for Mangione from parts of the community amid broader controversy over access to healthcare in America. For some people, he became something of a pin-up or political prisoner.In court, Mangione said he researched details of UnitedHealthcare’s annual investor conference in December 2024 after suffering a broken back and navigating the health insurance system. He said he then used a 3-D printer to make part of a gun and travelled to New York with the intent of killing Thompson.There was no plea agreement, and federal prosecutors noted they were free to seek the maximum penalty under the law.Luigi Mangione’s lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said she immediately filed to have the state charges dismissed.BloombergLater, outside court, Mangione’s lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo told reporters she had immediately filed to have Mangione’s state charges - including second degree murder - voided under double jeopardy laws.“Mr Mangione has accepted full responsibility for the death of Brian Thompson,” she said. “He endured years of severe debilitating pain … He believed that the system had failed him and destroyed his life.”Agnifilo said her client had been unfairly treated since the outset, noting he successfully fought off terrorism charges and other federal charges that carried the death penalty.“It was a single tragic event, yet he is being prosecuted twice for the same conduct … New York law does not allow a person to be prosecuted and punished twice for the exact same crime.”Luigi Mangione appears for a pre-trial hearing at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York on August 11.Steven Hirsch/Pool New York Post via APNew York district attorney Alvin Bragg is set to oppose Mangione’s attempt to void the state trial. Jury selection is due to begin on September 8, though it will likely be delayed. Garnett set sentencing on the federal charges for December 18.It was widely expected Mangione would plead guilty to the federal charges and attempt to have the state trial voided after prosecutors and the defence scheduled Friday’s unplanned hearing.Thompson’s widow sat in the front row of the gallery with other members of his family, and there was a large media presence inside and outside court.Federal US attorney Jamie McDonald, whose office led the federal case against Mangione, told a news conference that there could be no justification for the actions the 28-year-old had admitted.US attorney Jamie McDonald said “there can be no celebrity in assassination”.BloombergMangione prepared carefully, tracked Thompson’s whereabouts, conducted surveillance and used a silencer, McDonald said. After shooting twice at close range, he ran away and left his victim to die.“This was not a spontaneous act of violence. It was deliberate, calculated and premeditated,” McDonald said.“The defendant committed this murder in an attempt to draw public attention to his dislike of certain businesses. But we live in a civilised society governed by the rule of law. We debate, we disagree, we protest. We do not commit murder.“No grievance, political belief or ideological cause can ever justify murder. There can be no celebrity in assassination. Any person who celebrates, encourages, or excuses actions like these is fundamentally wrong.”Mangione had previously pleaded not guilty to the federal charges, which at the time included murder and weapons offences carrying the death penalty. Those two were later dropped.Experts say it is legally complex whether Mangione will be able to escape a state murder trial. The key legal question is whether the offences are considered distinct enough to mean that double jeopardy provisions do not apply.“It’s actually a pretty interesting legal question,” former New York prosecutor Berit Berger told this masthead ahead of Friday’s hearing.“New York’s a little different than other states. My guess is this will not preclude the New York case from going forward, but it’s a little bit more complicated.”New York has stronger protections for the defendant not to face dual proceedings than many states, Berger said. In most cases, these circumstances would at least delay the state trial, but the court would be under pressure not to delay it too long given the public interest, she said.With ReutersGet a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political reporter in Canberra.Connect via X or email.From our partners