By Corinne Ramey and Sadie Gurman

Luigi Mangione is expected to plead guilty Friday in a Manhattan federal court, where he is facing stalking charges in connection with the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Midtown hotel in 2024, people familiar with the matter said.

The expected plea potentially resolves the federal case just a month before Mangione is scheduled to go to trial in state court on murder and other charges. But the people familiar with the matter cautioned that Mangione still could change his mind. And his defense team has abruptly shifted strategies previously.

Mangione may have tactical reasons for the timing of a plea: If he is convicted of federal crimes related to Thompson's killing, his lawyers could attempt to argue that facing similar state charges amounts to double jeopardy. That litigation could potentially delay the trial.

A hearing in federal court is scheduled for Friday morning.

A spokesman for the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office, which brought the case, declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Mangione's legal team didn't respond to requests for comment.

Mangione, 28 years old, is alleged to have planned an ambush of Thompson, who was in Manhattan for an investor conference. The shooting, at close range on a public sidewalk, shook the city and the broader public, setting off a dayslong manhunt.

Mangione was eventually arrested at a Pennsylvania McDonald's, where authorities said they found him with a backpack that contained a pistol and a silencer, as well as a handwritten document that expressed ill-will toward corporate America.

In the federal case, Mangione is charged with two federal stalking offenses for causing Thompson's death. The maximum sentence is life in prison without parole.

In the separate state case, prosecutors have charged him with second-degree murder and offenses related to criminal possession of a weapon. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Sept. 8.

The state judge previously threw out two terrorism-related murder charges, saying murder committed for ideological reasons -- such as an alleged attempt to draw attention to inequalities in the healthcare system -- doesn't meet the legal definition of terrorism.

Mangione has pleaded not guilty in both cases.

Earlier this summer, the judge in the state case indicated that Mangione intended to present a psychiatric defense. That strategy had the potential to reduce his sentence. The next day, his lawyers said they no longer planned to do so.

Write to Corinne Ramey at corinne.ramey@wsj.com and Sadie Gurman at sadie.gurman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 13, 2026 16:13 ET (20:13 GMT)