NEW YORK — U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett dismissed federal murder and gun charges against Luigi Mangione, accused in the UnitedHealthcare CEO murder of Brian Thompson, blocking prosecutors from pursuing the death penalty Friday. Garnett said the remaining stalking counts do not qualify as a legal “crime of violence” under Supreme Court precedent, making the capital-eligible charges invalid, Jan. 30, 2026.
UnitedHealthcare CEO murder: why the death-penalty counts fell
In the UnitedHealthcare CEO murder federal case, Garnett tossed the murder count and a related firearms charge that prosecutors needed to keep capital punishment in play. The judge wrote that, under federal law, those counts had to be tied to another qualifying violent offense — and stalking does not meet that definition. Prosecutors said they have not decided whether they will appeal, according to Reuters.
The ruling leaves Mangione facing two federal stalking charges that still carry a possible sentence of life in prison without parole. Garnett acknowledged the legal analysis could feel “tortured and strange,” but said she was bound to apply Supreme Court precedent, as the Associated Press reported.
UnitedHealthcare CEO murder case: evidence stays in, and stakes remain high
Even as the indictment narrowed, Garnett ruled that prosecutors can use evidence recovered during Mangione’s arrest, including a handgun and writings authorities say describe planning. Defense lawyers had argued the search was unlawful. The Washington Post noted that the remaining federal charges, while no longer death-eligible, can still end in life imprisonment if Mangione is convicted.
What happens next
Garnett has scheduled jury selection in federal court for Sept. 8, with trial proceedings expected to follow in October. Mangione has pleaded not guilty. He also faces a separate New York state case tied to the UnitedHealthcare CEO murder, where prosecutors have pursued an earlier state trial date and the death penalty is not an option under state law.
How the UnitedHealthcare CEO murder case reached this point
Thompson, 50, was shot and killed Dec. 4, 2024, outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel as he walked to a UnitedHealth Group investor conference, Reuters reported in 2024. Federal prosecutors later detailed the initial federal case in a Justice Department announcement of charges. In April 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered federal prosecutors to seek capital punishment, according to a separate Justice Department release. In the parallel state prosecution, a judge dismissed terrorism-related murder counts in September 2025, Reuters reported.
Friday’s decision reshapes the UnitedHealthcare CEO murder prosecution in federal court into a stalking-only path: a case that can still end with life behind bars, but no longer includes a federal death sentence.
