Mangione Defense Files Motion to Block State Murder Trial Citing Double Jeopardy
Attorneys argue his federal guilty plea for stalking covers the same conduct as the state indictment for the 2024 killing of Brian Thompson.
By Charlotte Dubois ·
Luigi Mangione’s legal team submitted a court filing Friday seeking to dismiss the state murder indictment against him. The defense contends that his August guilty plea to federal stalking charges satisfies the double jeopardy protection, making a second trial in New York state court improper.
Mangione admitted in federal court to traveling to New York with the intent to kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and shooting him outside the Midtown Hilton in 2024. Defense attorney Karen Agnifilo wrote in the filing that there are no prior cases where identical conduct involving the same victim, weapon, defendant actions, location, and timeframe was prosecuted by both federal and state authorities.
Agnifilo stated that New York law does not allow a person to be prosecuted and punished twice for the exact same crime under a statute governing successive prosecutions. The filing argues that the core misconduct in the federal stalking case is effectively identical to the state murder charge, noting that while stalking can apply to less extreme conduct, it also covers intentional killing.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office has pushed to proceed with the state trial, arguing that stalking and murder address different misconduct. The district attorney's office did not immediately comment on the new defense filing.
Judge Gregory Carro will hear oral arguments on the defense motion to dismiss the state indictment in December. Mangione is also scheduled to be sentenced for his federal charges that same month.
