Many people saw the cold murder of CEO Brian Thompson carried out by Luigi Mangione on the street in New York City. Mangione was facing state and federal charges related to the assassination. Today, Mangione pled guilty to two federal counts of stalking Thompson.
I’m not sure if this is some scheme by his defense attorneys to avoid the state murder charge; it seems like it is. According to the defense, Mangione cannot be charged by federal and state court for the same crime; therefore, a guilty plea to the federal crime of stalking looks like it is being used as an escape mechanism from the state charge of murder.
What is super creepy about this case is the amount of support Mangione has for the murder. There is a remarkable and unnerving amount of online support for him, despite his cold-blooded killing of Brian Thompson.
NEW YORK – Luigi Mangione, whose coldblooded killing of an insurance executive on a Manhattan sidewalk rattled the nation and struck fear into corporate America, pleaded guilty Friday to two federal stalking charges for the death of UnitedHealthcare leader Brian Thompson.
“On the morning of Dec. 4, 2024, I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan and he died,” Mangione solemnly told the judge during a court hearing.
Mangione, wearing tan jail garb, told the judge that he spent years enduring severe pain, including a broken back, and witnessed others with similar experiences. He said that after learning of an investor conference, he emailed UnitedHealthcare, posing as an investor at a firm managing over $50 million in assets, to request information about it.
“Unlike my previous interactions with insurers, I received an immediate response within an hour,” Mangione added. He said he made part of a gun using a 3-D printer and planned the killing.
U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett said Mangione faces up to life in prison at his sentencing, which she set for December. Jamie McDonald, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said after Friday’s hearing that his office intended to seek the maximum penalty, saying Mangione committed the crime in order to “draw public attention to his dislike of certain businesses.”
“No grievance, political belief or ideological cause can ever justify murder,” McDonald said. “There can be no celebrity in assassination.”
Thompson’s family sat in the front row of the courtroom during the hearing. “Today’s guilty plea marks an important step toward justice for Brian and for our family,” the family said after the hearing. (read more)
Human turd
Confesses to *MURDER*.
Guilty of “stalking”.
Becomes a celebrity with legions of (liberal) women who want him.
Whatever his sentence is it won’t be enough, and he will be let go early.
I hate being this cynical…….but unfortunately, I am not wrong.
Also interesting is the support for him is from both sides of the political fence.
That should concern people more than it apparently does.
I am sympathetic to americans’ who are paying premium insurance policies but who get refused claims.
I can understand why some would cheer this kind of violence.
I am NOT sympathetic to murdering the dude regardless….but I do understand why so many rallied and embraced this kind of new form of street justice.
I think this will be amplified IF he does escape a murder charge.
God Bless America
agreed reg… in my darkest thoughts, i must admit i am conflicted. no justification for murder, i don’t think anyone here disputes that.
i also doubt anyone would dispute that the social contract has been deeply fractured, and otherwise decent but desperate people, easily manipulated and enraged, will take matters into their own hands, because “our” government will not do it for us.
imagine a circumstance for yourself, like, say, a deeply unjust civil case or imminent domain taking everything you ever owned and held dear from you and destroying your family. are you so sure that you would stand by and let it happen?
because thats what people are doing to our republic. and this is how societies collapse.
strange days. tune out and have a nice, stress-free weekend, yall. 😉
Not from both sides. RINO’s and Democrats are on the opposite side as any sane person that sees this mob style murder for what it is. There’s no possible justification for his actions.
That is my concern too. A guilty plea to stalking might not get him the death penalty, or even life in prison.
And is he still going to be tried for cold-blooded MURDER?
We are living in demonic times. Only those who are truly or willfully blind do not see it.
Aren’t “Stalking” and “Murder” two distinctly disparate acts in both jurisdictions?
How can a guilty plea in a single jurisdiction, for all intents and purposes, not be a guilty plea in ALL?
precisely my question too. Ninja’d by your clear question to the same issue.
God Bless America
i saw on fox news yesterday that NY state has a crazy law that the same ‘fact pattern’ can’t be used to try a defendant twice, even if it is for different ‘crimes’. So, with the fed going first, and all they have is stalking, that means the state can’t use the same facts to try him for murder. I guess it is a soft on crime law they came up with in NY. it was either Trey Gowdy or the other lawyer they always have (not Jonathan Turley, the other guy). I think it was Gowdy. He said they should have switched so the state went first. But, then, I guess the fed wouldn’t be able to try him. who knows if the state tried to mess up the case and then he gets out free. maybe at least the feds got a conviction.
Who agreed to the stalking crime versus 1st degree premeditated murder for the federal charge? Nuts, this is not justice, certainly a tainted legalese negotiation.
The critical words are “same crime,”, i.e., do the crimes have the same required elements?
Mangione pled to a federal crime of stalking across state lines.
The state charges do not include the interstate element.
Defense will probably argue that Mangione continued his stalking within the state of New York (He followed Thompson down the sidewalk), so they are the same crime.
The interstate element, however, is what gave the feds jurisdiction.
This will likely end up in SCOTUS. While Mangione rots in Supermax, one hopes.
I am going for “life in club fed for 500 Alex”.
I don’t know about NY’s prison system…but I imagine the above is better than Sing Sing, if they can pull it off–avoiding the ‘double jeopardy’ issues?
I don’t understand. Stalking isn’t murder, is it? Federal = stalking plea/charge, so why can’t State = murder charge?
In need of 4th grade explanation.
We’re a lawless, godless, gutless nation.
what i heard on fox news is that the penalty was the same for both crimes, and it is life in prison. (that didn’t make sense to me, but maybe they were talking about the max sentence). they also said that fed prison is nicer than state prison. so, that is a reason why he would plead guilty on fed charges.
Thank you Patty, reading / putting together comments from everyone so far is making things alittle less muddy.
Not all federal prisons are nicer than state ones. If he gets life he should start out in a penitentiary, and could potentially be moved to a FCI after a few years. Lots of gang violence in both
I THOUGHT NYS DOES NOT HAVE A DEATH PENALTY, SO DOES IT MATTER?
The federal judge is Biden appointee. She did not sentence Mangione today. She will get sentencing memoranda from both sides, and probably victim statements from Thompson’s family. Mangione’s attorney will likely build on the allegedly excruciating back pain as a factor in Mangione’s confused thinking, or something like that.
This might be the one time that a New York DA wants to appear tougher on crime than the feds. After all, the defendant is a rich white kid.
1000’s of people suffer excruciating back pain EVERY DAY.
They don’t use it an excuse to murder!
Mangione didn’t do anything most liberals wouldn’t do to conservatives if they thought they could get by with it. Look how they reacted to not only this cold-blooded murder, but the assassination of Charlie Kirk as well.
I see a closing gap between Liberals/DSA/Democrat Party and terrorist groups like Hamas and many others. Birds of a feather with much the same goal…the destruction of America.
can the judge refuse the plea?
second question.
since he is pleading to stalking (and NOT murder), would it not be true that he does not in fact face any kind of double jeopardy if federal prosecutors pursue the charge of murder?
noting: these ARE two different criminal violations. pleading to a separate charge seems to preserve the case of murder, no?
not a lawyer. obviously. Please reply please to those who are more familiar with the law and this case
God Bless America
First question: yes.
Second question: that will be the NY DA’s argument. The state and federal charges are not the same crime.
This is refreshing! So seldom do radical Marxist extremists proudly admit their crimes and take the consequences
The downside? His radical Marxist extremist fellow travelers will make him into a martyr. Hell, the next DSA president will likely make his birthday a national holiday!
The deferential and preferential treatment of murderers like this guy and the guy who killed Charlie Kirk is disturbing. They do it with illegal aliens, killers, rapists etc. who get no bail and rarely receive punishment. It’s state sponsored and endorsed mayhem.
Look at the photo at the end of the article. Brian Thompson walked alone. No police to be seen.
Thompson’s assassin gets an armed (HEAVILY ARMED) police escort to make sure he isn’t gunned down the same way he did Thompson.
The justice system of this country seems for more concerned about the lawless than those who are victims of their lawlessness. We are screwed.
The question of “double jeopardy” under NY State law may well go to SCOTUS.
Meanwhile: Tyler Robinson, are you watching / listening? If YOU go to trial, I can’t see you escaping Utah’s dearh penalty.
He was never going to get convicted of murder by a New York jury. Life without parole is probably about as good as it’s going to get.