Luigi Mangione wrote United Health CEO ‘had it coming,’ DA says

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Manhattan prosecutors said that when Luigi Mangione was arrested on a murder charge last year he was carrying a diary that referenced “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski and claimed UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive Brian Thompson “had it coming.”

Mangione, 27, faces a state murder charge for the fatal shooting of Thompson outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4. Federal prosecutors filed separate charges, one of which carries the death penalty. Mangione has pleaded not guilty in both cases.

Last month, he asked a judge block the diary from being shown at his trial. He also requested the state murder case be dropped. On Wednesday, prosecutors said in a court filing that the red notebook contained “pertinent” evidence “that explained in unambiguous terms defendant’s intent and motive in deliberately assassinating the CEO of the country’s largest health insurance company.”

Prosecutors for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg also cited other excerpts written months before the attack that they said show Mangione had planned it for months.

According to the filing, an entry from Aug. 15, 2024, reads, “I finally feel confident about what I will do. The details are coming together.” He also wrote, “I’m glad I procrastinated bc it allowed me to learn more about UHC. The target is insurance. It checks every box.”

Prosecutors said an entry on Oct. 22, 2024, stated, “1.5 months. The investor conference is a true windfall. It embodies everything wrong with our health system, and — most importantly — the message becomes self-evident. The problem with most revolutionary acts is that the message is lost on normies. For example, Ted K makes some good points on the future of humanity, but to make his point he indiscriminately mailbombs innocents.”

Kaczynski died in prison while serving a life sentence in Colorado after being convicted of engaging in a 17-year campaign of bombings that killed three and injured 23 others.

Mangione has also argued the state and federal cases amounted to double jeopardy. His lawyers want to suppress evidence investigators say they recovered after his arrest, including a 9 mm handgun, ammunition and a notebook in which authorities say he described his intent to “wack” an insurance executive.

A lawyer and a spokesperson for Mangione didn’t have an immediate comment.

The case is The People of the State of New York v. Mangione, 75657/2024, Supreme Court of the State of New York (Manhattan).

— With assistance from David Voreacos and Erik Larson.