Luigi Mangione is expected to appear in Manhattan federal court Wednesday as his attorneys ask a judge to postpone his upcoming trial.
Mangione, 27, is accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Midtown hotel in December 2024. Mangione faces criminal charges in both state and federal courts and is slated to stand back-to-back trials later this year. His state trial on murder and weapons charges is supposed to start in June, followed by his federal trial on stalking charges in September.
Mangione’s attorneys have argued the current trial schedule won’t give him enough time to prepare. In a recent letter to U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett, defense lawyers said he would have to review an estimated 800 questionnaires from potential federal jurors while on trial in state court. They said such an endeavor “would not be possible” on a practical level and asked for the federal trial to be postponed to next January.
The U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York responded in its own letter that it was willing to adjust the schedule for juror questionnaires but did not want to delay the trial. Federal prosecutors also noted the most serious federal charges against Mangione — which could have resulted in the death penalty — have been dropped, simplifying the case.
Mangione’s case has attracted international attention, with some fiercely condemning Thompson’s killing and others celebrating it as a statement against the health insurance industry and corporate greed. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him.