Luigi Mangione's lawyers on Friday asked a judge to prevent the U.S. government from seeking the death penalty in a case accusing him of shooting and killing the CEO of UnitedHealth Group's insurance division, in New York last year.

Mangione's lawyers said in a filing in New York federal court that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's April 1 announcement that prosecutors would seek the death penalty was "unapologetically political" and breached government protocols for death penalty decisions.

"The United States government intends to kill Mr. Mangione as a political stunt," his lawyers said.