Federal prosecutors will seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last December, marking the first major test of the Trump administration’s reinstated federal execution policy.

Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the decision late Tuesday, citing what she described as the “cold-blooded and calculated” nature of the killing. Mangione allegedly used a 3D-printed firearm to shoot Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel, fleeing the scene on an e-bike. He was captured a week later in Pennsylvania following a multistate manhunt.

The case qualifies for capital punishment under federal statutes because it involves murder with a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. Bondi’s directive aligns with Trump’s January 2025 executive order ending the federal execution moratorium enacted under President Biden.

Critics, including human rights groups and Mangione’s defense counsel, argue the move is politically motivated and signals a dangerous return to punitive excess. “This is not about justice—it’s about optics,” said defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo. “They’re using this tragedy to bring back executions.”

Trump and Bondi have both previously voiced support for expanding the use of the death penalty, particularly in high-profile or violent cases. Supporters of the decision have pointed to public outrage over Thompson’s killing as justification for the government’s aggressive posture.

Mangione has pleaded not guilty and remains held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn awaiting trial. If convicted, he could become the first person executed under Trump’s renewed federal capital punishment regime.