By Patricia Hurtado | Updated on Oct 09, 2026 at 10:11 PM
Luigi Mangione should still face a New York state murder trial even after he pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the fatal shooting of UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive Brian Thompson, Manhattan prosecutors said Friday.
Prosecutors in the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said that the federal stalking charges, which Mangione pleaded guilty to in August, have “nothing to do” with the murder case he faces in state court. The filing is in response to Mangione’s lawyers’ claims that the state case should be dismissed because of the legal concept known as double jeopardy .
They are “different harms, different evils, different purposes, different crimes,” Manhattan state prosecutor Joel Seidemann told a judge Friday, adding that New York law “permits the continued prosecution of defendant’s state murder charge.”
Mangione, 28, pleaded guilty in federal court in August to two counts of stalking, admitting that he shot Thompson outside an investor conference at a midtown Manhattan hotel in 2024. On the day of his plea, his lawyers filed a motion in state court, arguing the US Constitution and New York state law prohibit prosecuting someone twice for the same act, or double jeopardy.
Read More: Mangione Pleads Guilty in US Case, Tries to Stop Murder Trial
A spokeswoman for Mangione’s legal team cited prior arguments his defense lawyers have made.
In her motion to dismiss the state charges, defense lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo said Mangione was being simultaneously prosecuted by both state and federal officials for what she called “a single tragic event.”
She argued that state and federal prosecutors “charged the identical murder” using “the same firearm” that their client possessed when he was arrested. For that reason, Bragg “is precluded from prosecuting him further.”
Mangione was scheduled to stand trial in New York state court on Sept. 8, but New York state judge Gregory Carro postponed it after Mangione pleaded guilty in the federal case. The judge in the federal case, as well as outside legal experts, had voiced concern about how the plea would impact jury selection in the state case.
Read More: Mangione Judge Worried About State Case, Leaks at Secret Hearing
Seidemann argued a state murder charge can proceed under an “exception” to New York’s double jeopardy statute. He also said there are “substantial differences” between the federal stalking charges Mangione pleaded guilty to in August and the state’s murder charge, and that the two cases don’t overlap.
“Statutory double jeopardy applies only when a defendant has been ‘separately prosecuted’ for the same misconduct, and dismissed federal charges do not constitute a separate prosecution,” Seidemann said in his memo.
Judge Carro must now decide on the double jeopardy issue. Mangione’s lawyers must file their response in the state case by Oct. 30. Carro scheduled the next hearing in the case for Dec. 10.
Thompson’s slaying triggered a massive investigation by both federal and New York City authorities, leading to a turf battle and two separate criminal cases against Mangione.
In the state case, Mangione faces 25 years to life in prison, which may be in addition to whatever sentence which US District Judge Margaret Garnett imposes upon him on December 18. Manhattan US Attorney Jamie McDonald has said the government would seek a life sentence.