Two significant anonymous donations have recently bolstered the legal defense fund for Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old facing both federal and state charges—including murder, forgery, and identity fraud—related to the December 2024 fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel.
As federal prosecutors pursue the death penalty, Mangione, who has pleaded not guilty, has seen growing financial and vocal support from backers who question the political motivations behind the case.
The donations—$23,000 and $20,000 respectively—come amid rising tension over what Mangione’s supporters describe as a politicized legal battle. One donor called the case “disgusting political exploitation.” The legal fund, managed by The December 4th Legal Committee, has now surpassed $905,000, inching closer to its $1 million goal, according to its GiveSendGo campaign page.
Mangione’s lead attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, denounced the Justice Department’s push for the death penalty in an April 1 statement, calling it “state-sponsored murder” and accusing prosecutors of using Mangione as a pawn in a jurisdictional power struggle. She emphasized the team’s readiness to fight all charges—federal and state—describing the prosecution as a “corrupt web of government dysfunction.”
The surge in donations followed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s announcement that federal prosecutors would seek the death penalty, citing the murder as “a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination” and aligning it with the Trump administration’s anti-crime agenda.
President Donald Trump echoed these sentiments, calling the act “a cold-blooded, horrible killing.”
Meanwhile, UnitedHealth Group mourned Thompson’s death, thanking supporters and vowing to aid his family while cooperating with authorities. Mangione remains in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, with upcoming court dates in federal and state jurisdictions.
