Luigi Mangione just pled guilty to stalking in his federal case in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson ... a stunning move that could torpedo his upcoming New York state murder trial.
Mangione spoke to the judge, saying ... "After years of enduring pain from a broken back, I shot Mr. Thompson, and he died. I knew what I was doing was illegal." His lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said during a news conference, "He endured years of severe, debilitating pain, following a broken back, while struggling to navigate our health care and health insurance systems," adding, "He believed that the system had failed him and destroyed his life."
Agnifilo is previewing what she will argue before the judge when it comes time for sentencing ... that Luigi was so overwrought with pain and anger he was not fully in his right mind when he fired the shots that killed Brian Thompson.
Mangione said he tracked Thompson to a UnitedHealthCare conference, where he posed as an investor to get more info on who was attending. He said he used a gun he printed on a 3-D printer and affixed it with a silencer.
Mangione pled guilty to interstate stalking resulting in death and stalking through the use of interstate facilities resulting in death.
Thompson's family was in court to watch the dramatic turn of events. Afterward, the family said they are happy Mangione has been held accountable for "this heinous act," adding, "Now we look to the court to ensure that sentencing reflects the severity of this crime."
Luigi Mangione's lawyers are asking the judge in his state case to toss it out on double jeopardy grounds, now that he's pleaded guilty in his federal case ... and they say prosecutors are using him as a "pawn" in a sick game.
In court docs, obtained by TMZ, Mangione's lawyers are asking a judge to dismiss the eight charges still pending in his state case -- second-degree murder and seven weapons charges -- stemming from the December 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Mangione's defense argues his federal guilty pleas now bar the state case from moving forward under the federal Constitution and New York's double jeopardy law ... while accusing state and federal prosecutors of using him as a "pawn" in a coordinated push to punish him twice.
Luigi Mangione's lawyer says his federal guilty pleas should knock out the state murder case against him ... arguing he can't be prosecuted twice over the same killing.
Attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo spoke outside the courthouse Friday after Mangione pleaded guilty to federal charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson ... saying her client has now accepted "full responsibility" for Thompson's death.
Agnifilo says Mangione suffered years of severe pain from a broken back and believed the healthcare and insurance systems had failed him ... but her big argument Friday was that the killing was one event, and Mangione shouldn't be prosecuted twice for it.
In fact, his lawyers aren't wasting any time ... Agnifilo has filed a motion, obtained by TMZ, asking a judge to toss the state case under New York's double jeopardy protections.
9:28 AM PT -- Mangione pleaded guilty to two federal stalking charges related to Thompson's shooting death ... one count of interstate stalking resulting in death and one count of stalking through use of interstate facilities resulting in death.
He admitted to stalking Thompson to a healthcare conference and shooting him with a gun he printed on a 3-D printer. As Luigi pled guilty, Thompson's widow Paulette was visibly emotional and other members of his family were seen fighting back tears.
Mangione said ... "I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan. I understood that my actions would place him in fear of death or bodily injury. I knew what I was doing was illegal."
After Friday's court hearing, Thompson's family issued a statement saying ... "Today's guilty plea marks an important step toward justice for Brian and for our family. While nothing will ease the pain of losing him, we are grateful that the federal justice system has held the person responsible for this heinous act accountable. Now we look to the court to ensure that sentencing reflects the severity of this crime."
Luigi Mangione will have Brian Thompson's family looking on as he faces a federal judge Friday ... with the slain UnitedHealthcare CEO's loved ones sitting front row.
Thompson's mother, widow and several other family members entered the Manhattan federal courtroom ahead of Mangione's highly anticipated hearing ... taking their seats together in the first row.
Prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office have been pissed off atLuigi Mangione's team for trying to sabotage its case by striking a plea bargain with the feds.
The judge in the state case just unsealed docs, one of which was a letter to the court, dated July 2, 2026, in which Assistant D.A. Joel Seidemann wrote that his office had heard rumblings of a plea bargain in the federal case.
As TMZ reported, if Luigi were to plead guilty to stalking in the federal case, the state case would be dismissed based on double jeopardy.
MAJOR twist in the Luigi Mangione case ... his legal team is in serious negotiations with federal prosecutors, sources tell TMZ, and it could have a dramatic impact on his fate.
Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the negotiations are "real," and it involves a possible guilty plea to murder, but the twist comes with sentencing. We're told one of the "possibilities" is an open plea where sentencing is not negotiated, but left to the judge after an extensive hearing. That would allow the defense to present mitigating factors -- including Luigi's strong feels about health care and corporate greed that altered his mental state -- that could lead to a sentence more favorable than life in prison.
The implications here are dramatic. When someone is charged in both federal and state court for the same offense and the federal case resolves first, the state cannot prosecute based on double jeopardy. Paul Manafort successfully made this argument in a New York state court when he was prosecuted for fraud back in 2019.
Luigi Mangione's lawyers are pivoting when it comes to their defense strategy as his state murder trial looms ... and jury selection is going to be key.
TMZ's own Harvey Levin has spoken with sources in the know and -- as he explains in this YouTube video published Tuesday -- he's told Mangione's team is banking on some younger jurors who want to acquit Luigi no matter what the law says.
Lots of folks who are under 35 support political violence in certain circumstances ... and if Luigi's team can get some of these people on the jury, that would really help Luigi ... and harm the prosecution.
Luigi Mangione is not happy with prosecutors in his state trial ... he says they're doing too much to limit the number of people in court ... and he wants the proceedings broadcast live on air.
Luigi's lawyers sent a letter to Judge Carro on Friday ... and it's clear Luigi is mad that the state plans to partially exclude the public and the press from his trial.
A source close to the case … “The DA’s office never chooses which journalists attend the trial — and they won’t do that in this case either.”
According to the letter, Luigi has a big issue with the fact that the court and the District Attorney plan to hand-pick the reporters who are allowed to attend the trial.
The judge announced jury selection will start January 5 -- calling in about 40 to 50 people per day -- and opening statements will begin on January 25. Assistant United States Attorney Dominic A. Gentile moved to exclude a speedy trial.
4:05 PM PT -- Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ there have been no plea bargain negotiations between prosecutors and the defense team.
Luigi Mangione may be mulling over a guilty plea, because a new report states his lawyers have discussed a deal with prosecutors ... but Luigi's team calls the report an intentional attempt to prejudice their client.
According to ABC News ... the alleged murderer's legal team and federal prosecutors have discussed a possible plea ahead of a court hearing scheduled for Monday.
4:37 PM PT -- Sources with knowledge tell TMZ ... Luigi's lawyers will resurrect the Extreme Emotional Distress defense as they get closer to the trial date. We're told the reason they backed off now is that they are doing more psych evaluations with Luigi and don’t want to turn over the records until they are complete. They also don’t want to play their hand until they get closer to trial.
It's a shocker for sure ... Luigi Mangione has backed off his core defense that was just announced in court yesterday, but there may be more to this story than meets the eye.
As we reported, the judge in his New York State murder trial revealed Wednesday ... Luigi's lawyers were mounting a novel defense called Extreme Emotional Disturbance. Short story -- it essentially means he was out of his head when he shot and killed United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
TMZ has reported extensively on Mangione's obsession with corporate greed ... and the defense planned to argue that obsession created an altered state in which Luigi felt he fired the gun to save humanity. If the jury bought the argument, it would reduce the murder charge to manslaughter.
Luigi Mangione wants to mount a seldom-used defense in his murder trial -- Extreme Emotional Disturbance -- and if the jury buys it, Mangione could become a free man one day.
Mangione appeared in court Wednesday with his lawyers, who informed the judge he will use the defense when he goes on trial for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
What's fascinating ... the defense would allow Mangione and his lawyers to effectively put UnitedHealthCare on trial, showing the company's conduct in denying claims was so egregious it upset Mangione to the point of meltdown. As TMZ has extensively reported, Mangione was extremely upset with the way corporate greed controlled the United States.
Luigi Mangione just got a major ruling in his state murder case, with a judge deciding Monday several pieces of evidence will not be used -- including an ammunition magazine -- but prosecutors still won on the major items found in his backpack.
The Monday ruling comes after Luigi’s attorneys argued cops illegally searched his backpack when he was arrested at a McDonald's back in December 2024 ... just days after Brian Thompsonwas gunned down in NYC.
The judge agreed the search at the McDonald’s was “unreasonable” and said there were no emergency circumstances to justify it ... meaning several of the items found during that search will now be inadmissible in the case.
Luigi Mangione turned 28 Wednesday inside a federal lockup as he awaits 2 murder trials ... but he has a lot to celebrate ... at least when it comes to his legal defense fund!
The alleged killer of UnitedHealthcare CEOBrian Thompson received a $28,038 donation today from a man named Carl ... putting Luigi at a whopping $1.5 million in overall contributions to his fund.
Carl mentioned in his post about the donation that he also directed funds to "victims in comparable situations." He added it's unfortunate that private support is needed in Luigi's case due to the pile of charges against him.
Jack Black is not getting the band back together ... telling us Tenacious D still isn't reuniting for a new project despite reports to the contrary.
We caught up with the voice of Bowser himself in New York City Thursday afternoon ... and we asked him when we can expect to see TD pumping out new projects.
Charlie Day couldn't resist jumping on the Luigi Mangione bandwagon in a recent interview ... laughing out loud while ranking the accused murderer among his favorite Luigis.
The actor took a few questions alongside his 'Super Mario Galaxy Movie' costars Anya Taylor-Joy and Keegan-Michael Key in Tokyo for the comedy podcast "Tintoria" ... and he was asked specifically who his favorite Luigi is "in recent American history?"
❗During Super Mario Galaxy movie cast interview, actor Charlie Day (who plays Luigi) said that Luigi Mangione is one of his favorite Luigis in the recent American history. pic.twitter.com/6MwVQ1gdnU@LuigiArchive_
The trio of celebs immediately break into grins ... because it's clear what the hosts are fishing for here, and Day, who play's Mario's brother, Luigi, doesn't disappoint.
He says he's top of the Luigi game, but Mangione comes in second.
