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Luigi Mangione is expected to plead guilty as early as Friday in the federal case stemming from the 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The anticipated plea would mark a major shift in a closely watched prosecution that has unfolded alongside a separate New York state murder case. Mangione has previously pleaded not guilty to both sets of charges.

The person who disclosed the expected plea cautioned that Mangione could still change his mind. His lawyers, the Justice Department and federal prosecutors in Manhattan, have not publicly confirmed the terms of any agreement or said which charge or charges he may admit to.

Friday hearing could reshape the case

Mangione is scheduled to appear in Manhattan federal court Friday for a newly arranged hearing. Federal prosecutors have accused him of traveling across state lines and using interstate facilities while stalking Thompson before the executive was shot outside a Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4, 2024.

Thompson was walking to UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference when he was killed.

Federal authorities originally charged Mangione with stalking offenses as well as firearms-related counts tied to Thompson’s death. The Justice Department announced in 2025 that prosecutors would seek the death penalty, but U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett ruled in January 2026 that capital punishment could not be pursued in the federal case.

Mangione still faces the possibility of life imprisonment.

What happens to the New York murder case?

A federal guilty plea could also complicate the separate prosecution brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office.

Mangione’s state murder trial is currently scheduled to begin Sept. 8. His lawyers have repeatedly argued that trying him in both federal and state court over the same underlying conduct raises double-jeopardy concerns.

New York law provides broader protections against successive prosecutions than federal law in some circumstances. If Mangione enters a guilty plea in the federal case, his attorneys could ask the state judge to dismiss some or all of the state charges.

Prosecutors, however, have argued that the two cases involve distinct offenses and that the state prosecution should be allowed to continue. The state case includes murder and firearms allegations tied directly to Thompson’s killing.

Evidence and public attention

Mangione was arrested five days after the shooting at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Authorities say investigators recovered a 3D-printed handgun and writings that prosecutors contend help connect him to the killing.

The case has attracted extraordinary public attention, in part because of anger toward the U.S. health insurance industry. Mangione has drawn supporters at court appearances, while an online legal-defense fundraiser has collected more than $1.5 million.

Friday’s hearing could now determine whether the federal side of one of the country’s most closely followed criminal cases ends without a trial — while potentially opening a new legal fight over whether New York can continue with its own prosecution.