NEW YORK CITY — U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett scheduled jury selection for Luigi Mangione's federal trial to begin on January 5, 2027, and opening statements for January 25, 2027. Garnett cited scheduling conflicts with Mangione's pending state murder trial as the reason for the postponement.

Mangione's state murder trial is scheduled to begin on September 8, 2026. Garnett stated that she had hoped with "undue optimism" to hold the federal trial in the fall but that "we can no longer wait to see what happens" in the state case. "In my view, it's simply impossible to be moving through the jury selection process in this case while the defendant and his counsel are fully occupied by conducting the state trial," Garnett said.

Mangione became trapped in an elevator inside the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse in lower Manhattan on June 29, 2026. He remained shackled at his hands and feet while building engineers worked to free him. Mangione entered the courtroom more than 30 minutes late for the proceeding, wearing a tan prison uniform through a door normally reserved for the judge.

The federal trial is expected to last two to three weeks. Garnett outlined a jury-screening process in which written questionnaires will be distributed to prospective jurors before in-person questioning begins. The jury will consist of 12 jurors and six alternates. Prosecutors objected to defense-proposed questions regarding prospective jurors' religious practices, family details, and views of the health insurance industry.

Mangione faces two counts of stalking in the federal case related to the killing of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson. He has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges. Mangione faces a second-degree murder charge and several counts related to criminal possession of a weapon in the state case. Brian Thompson was killed in December 2024. The two federal stalking counts carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Mangione is represented by attorneys Karen Agnifilo, Marc Agnifilo, and Jacob Kaplan. Plea talks between Mangione's defense team and federal prosecutors had previously fallen aside.