According to CNN, Mangione entered a guilty plea in the federal case against him late last week. He admitted that he stalked and eventually shot Thompson outside a Hilton hotel in Manhattan, New York City, in December 2024.
“I shot Mr. Thompson, and he died,” his confession reads. “I knew that what I was doing was illegal.”
While in court, Mangione said he posted as an investor in an email to the UnitedHealthcare leadership to learn more about the conference Thompson was attending at the time of the shooting.
His attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, also said he accepted “full responsibility” for the death of Thompson. “He believed that the system had failed him and destroyed his life, she said, citing Mangione’s past severe back pain and healthcare system frustrations.
Judge Margaret Garnett stated in court that Mangione is facing a maximum sentence of life in prison for the federal case plea. There has been no plea agreement with the government.
Mangione pleaded guilty to two counts of stalking resulting in Thompson’s death. Although he was not charged with murder in federal court, he has been charged with the crime in a second concurrent case in the state of New York.
Other charges in New York include:
Mangione’s legal team has filed motions to dismiss the state charges in both New York and Pennsylvania.
In Pennsylvania, Mangione was charged with carrying a firearm without a license, possessing instruments of a crime, tampering with records, and providing false identification to law enforcement after initially lying to police about his identity.