On Tuesday, Attorney General Pamela Bondi directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, who is accused of shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year.
In December, Mangione, 26, received federal charges of stalking and murdering Thompson after the CEO was fatally shot in New York City, per NBC. State prosecutors also charged him with first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism.
Bondi stated that as a part of “Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again,” she was directing prosecutors to seek the death penalty, according to NBC.
“Luigi Mangione’s murder of Brian Thompson — an innocent man and father of two young children — was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America,” Bondi said in a statement, per The New York Times.
The federal charge of murder through the use of a firearm means Mangione is eligible for the death penalty if convicted, per ABC.
Mangione pleaded not guilty to all charges, per NBC. His lawyer has not responded to comment about the attorney general’s push for the death penalty.
If Mangione is convicted of the state charges, he could likely be imprisoned for life without parole.