Attorney-general Pam Bondi asked federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty earlier this month in the case of the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, which brought to the surface deep public frustration with the lucrative US commercial healthcare system.

“Defendant Luigi Mangione seeks court intervention now not merely because the government has failed to follow (internal and external death penalty) procedures – but because it has abandoned them,” Mangione’s lawyers said in a filing to the Manhattan federal court.

“He seeks court intervention because the attorney-general has explicitly stated that she has ordered the death penalty to ‘carry out President (Donald) Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again’.”

Bondi called the murder “an act of political violence” that “may have posed grave risk of death to additional persons”.

Many social media users have painted Mangione as a hero.

“The attorney-general’s decision is explicitly and unapologetically political,” yesterday’s defence filing added.

“This court should not presume good faith by the attorney-general,” it added accusing Bondi of prejudicing proceedings and demanding all communication on the death penalty issue be supplied to defence counsel.

Mangione has been charged in both New York state and US federal court.

In the state case, Mangione has pleaded not guilty and could face life imprisonment with no parole if convicted.

Early on Dec 4, Mangione allegedly tracked Thompson in New York, walked up behind him and fired several gunshots from a pistol with a silencer, federal prosecutors said.

He had travelled to the city by bus from Atlanta about 10 days before the crime.

Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Dec 9 following a tip from staff at a McDonald’s restaurant, after a days-long manhunt.