Luigi Manzione will not face the death penalty for the alleged murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024, after a federal judge dismissed the murder charge.

According to CNN, U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett dismissed the charge, ruling that it requires the killing to have been committed during another “crime of violence.” Prosecutors argued that the qualifying crimes were two counts of harassment, alleging that Manzione harassed Thompson online and traveled across state lines to carry out the killing.

The judge rejected that argument, ruling that the harassment charges did not constitute “crimes of violence,” and dismissed two counts in Manzione’s federal case: murder and a related firearms offense.

As noted in the report, the murder charge was the only count in Manzione’s federal indictment that carried a possible death sentence.

Manzione will still face two harassment charges. If convicted, those charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.

Jury selection in the federal trial is scheduled to begin on September 8, with opening arguments expected to start on October 13.

In the same ruling, the judge allowed evidence found in Manzione’s backpack at the time of his arrest to be used at trial. Authorities seized several items from the backpack, including a pistol, a cartridge magazine, and a red notebook, which prosecutors say directly link him to the murder.

Manzione’s defense attorneys had sought to exclude the evidence, arguing that the backpack was searched illegally because no warrant had yet been issued and there was no immediate threat to justify a warrantless search.