U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Tuesday she has directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel last December. The decision marks the first federal death penalty pursuit since President Donald Trump resumed office in January, vowing to restart executions.

Thompson, 50, was fatally shot Dec. 4 outside the New York Hilton Midtown while arriving for his company’s investor conference. Surveillance footage showed a masked gunman ambushing Thompson from behind. Investigators recovered ammunition at the scene inscribed with the words “delay,” “deny,” and “depose”—a nod to criticism of insurance industry practices.

Mangione, an Ivy League graduate, faces federal charges of murder through use of a firearm, a capital offense, and state murder charges carrying a maximum life sentence. He has pleaded not guilty in state court and has yet to enter a federal plea. Prosecutors initially indicated state proceedings would advance first, but Bondi’s announcement could alter the timeline.

“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, labeling the killing “an act of political violence.” She added the move aligns with Trump’s agenda to “stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again.”

Authorities arrested Mangione in Altoona, Pennsylvania, following a five-day manhunt. Police recovered a 9mm handgun matching the murder weapon, a fake ID, and a notebook they described as a manifesto criticizing the health insurance industry and wealthy executives. Entries included an August 2024 note stating “the target is insurance” and an October vow to “wack” an insurance CEO, prosecutors said.

UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest health insurer, confirmed Mangione was never a client.

Defense attorney Karen Friedman-Agnifilo has vowed to challenge evidence from Mangione’s arrest and criticized the dual prosecutions, accusing “warring jurisdictions” of treating her client as a “human ping-pong ball.” A message seeking comment on Bondi’s announcement was left with her spokesperson.

Mangione’s arrest involved a dramatic transport to New York under heavy police escort, including Mayor Eric Adams. The case has reignited debates over federal executions, which Trump’s administration revived in 2020 with 13 executions—the most in modern history. Biden commuted most federal death sentences before leaving office, but Bondi lifted his moratorium upon becoming attorney general in February.

Trump signed an executive order Jan. 20 mandating death penalty pursuits in eligible cases, contrasting Biden’s approach. Bondi’s decision signals a return to aggressive capital prosecutions central to Trump’s law-and-order platform.