Luigi Mangione Plotted to 'Wack' an Insurance CEO for Weeks Before Brian Thompson's Killing: Feds

Mar. 15, 2025

Luigi Mangione.Photo:Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo/Bloomberg via Getty

Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of a UnitedHealth Group Inc. chief executive officer Brian Thompson, exits the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, US, on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024.

Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo/Bloomberg via Getty

Weeks before allegedly shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson,Luigi Mangionewrote that the company’s investor conference was a perfect place to “wack” a top insurance executive, federal prosecutors contend in a criminal complaint filed Thursday, Dec. 19. (The use of “wack” is an apparent misspelling of “whack.")

The notebook entry describes the investor conference as “a true windfall” where “the message becomes self-evident,” per the indictment. Later in the entry, Mangione allegedly describes his “intent to ‘wack’ the CEO of one of the insurance companies at its investor conference.”

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According to the complaint, Mangione wrote in the notebook as early as August that “the details are finally coming together” and that “the target is insurance” because “it checks every box.”

It’s possible the plans were allegedly underway well before that as well, because the author acknowledges having “procrastinated” in order to learn more about an unnamed corporation.

Mangione, 26, is charged federally in New York’s Southern District with murder, stalking, and firearms violations; if convicted of the murder count, he could face the death penalty.

The University of Pennsylvania graduate from a prominent Maryland family has also been indicted on first and second-degree murder charges in New York State, where prosecutors accuse him of committing an act of terrorism. He also faces weapons and forgery charges in Pennsylvania.

Mangione has pleaded not guilty to the Pennsylvania charges; his plea in the New York and federal cases has not yet been filed.

source: people.com