OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
7:57 AM – Friday, August 14, 2026
Luigi Mangione, accused of assassinating UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024, is expected to plead guilty in federal court, where he faces charges of stalking, sources say.
Mangione, 28, is scheduled to appear in federal court at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Lower Manhattan before U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett on Friday.
Mangione met with his lawyers Thursday morning at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn in advance of Friday’s federal court hearing, according to a source familiar with the matter cited by NBC News.
It is unclear if the suspected gunman will plead guilty to one or both of the two stalking related charges: travel in interstate commerce resulting in death and use of interstate facilities (such as a phone and internet) resulting in death. He is also able to reverse his plea decision at any time, even during the hearing.
A source familiar with the situation reportedly emphasized that plea negotiations were ongoing and that nothing was certain until Mangione himself entered his plea.
If convicted of either charge, the suspect could face a life imprisonment sentence.
In January, Garnett dismissed one count of discharging a firearm equipped with a silencer during a crime of violence and one count of murder through the use of a firearm, eliminating the possibility of the death penalty at the federal level.
The possible plea change comes a month before Mangione’s New York state murder trial in connection with the killing of the 50-year-old father of two.
At the state level, Mangione faces nine charges:
- One count of second-degree murder;
- Two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon;
- Four counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon;
- One count of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon;
- One count of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to the state charges. The judge has ordered an anonymous jury due to concerns about harassment or outside influence.
The New York trial is to begin jury selection on September 8, 2026.
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