Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Tuesday that federal prosecutors will pursue the death penalty for Luigi Mangione if he is convicted of the December murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione faces multiple federal charges, including murder with a firearm, a crime that qualifies for capital punishment upon conviction.
"Mangione’s murder of Brian Thompson — an innocent man and father of two young children — was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America," Bondi said in a statement. "After careful consideration, I have directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case as we carry out President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again."
Mangione is accused of gunning Thompson down outside a Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan on Dec. 4, 2024, as Thompson was heading to an investors conference. Prosecutors say the murder was politically motivated and premeditated, endangering bystanders. Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pa., five days later.
The Biden administration filed federal murder charges against Mangione in December.
The Department of Justice said the move to seek the death penalty against Mangione is “in line with Attorney General Bondi’s Day One Memo as Attorney General entitled ‘Reviving The Federal Death Penalty And Lifting The Moratorium On Federal Executions.’”
“Throughout much of its nearly 155-year history, the Department of Justice career prosecutors and political leadership have appropriately secured federal death sentences against the very worst criminals,” the memo read. “Consistent with Congress's mandate, the Department has consistently and faithfully fulfilled its duty to carry out those sentences in accordance with the law. The American people undoubtedly are safer, and more secure, as a result of this critical work.”
The memorandum made it clear that the Biden way of doing things is over.
Recently, however, the Department's political leadership disregarded these important responsibilities and supplanted the will of the people with their own personal beliefs. Those at the very highest levels of the Department failed to seek death sentences against child rapists, mass murderers, terrorists, and other criminals. More appalling, the Department's leadership sought and received from former President Biden—commutations for the death sentences of 3 7 murderers that Department of Justice prosecutors had tirelessly secured over the past three decades. These actions severely undermined the rule oflaw and grievously damaged the public's trust in the justice system. For the victims of these horrific crimes and the loved ones left behind, these actions betrayed our sacred duty and broke our promise to achieve justice.
Despite being an accused cold-blooded killer, Mangione has become a hero of the left.
Last month, California Democrats proposed a ballot initiative named after Mangione. The so-called “Luigi Mangioni [sic] Access to Health Care Act” aims to make it more difficult for insurance companies to deny medical treatment claims.
Last year, the audience of “Saturday Night Live” erupted in cheers when Weekend Update anchor Colin Jost mentioned Mangione’s name. The moment was a disturbing sign of how warped things have become, with some seemingly eager to glorify an accused murderer simply because his crime aligns with a preferred political narrative.
But the troubling trend didn’t stop there. CNN White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins ignited outrage last month when she tweeted a link to the defense fund for Mangione.
While the radical left celebrates an accused murderer and the mainstream media promotes his defense fund, we'll keep exposing this disturbing glorification of violence. Get the uncensored truth about the left's dangerous hero-worship with PJ Media VIP. Use code FIGHT for 60% off and help us continue our fear
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