They’re fanning the flames.
Diehard fans of Luigi Mangione ghoulishly hooped and hollered in celebration outside a Manhattan courthouse Tuesday as the accused CEO assassin’s terrorism charges were dropped.
Many fanatics had camped out all night to see Mangione and held up homemade signs intermingling beefcake-like images of the twisted folk hero with political and anti-health insurance company messages.
“Free! Luigi!” one protester, who wore a green hat like the Luigi video game character, shouted in a call-and-response chant.
The carnival-esque celebration unfolded against the backdrop of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk’s assassination last week putting a spotlight on US political violence.
Mangione had already attracted a warped following among many leftists – who flocked, often clad in costumes, to his past court hearings – after he allegedly murdered UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December.
Their poisonous political pageantry continued as Mangione was carted into a Manhattan Supreme Court hearing, where a judge was expected to debate whether jurors could see his diary.
Mangione, 27, wants to block prosecutors from bringing up his notebook — where he purportedly mused about killing the “greedy” CEO to draw attention to an industry that “extracts human life force for money” — when he goes on trial for the Dec. 4, 2024, assassination in Midtown.
Cops in Altoona, Pa., discovered the red notebook, a partially 3D-printed pistol, zip ties and rolls of duct tape inside the privileged anti-capitalist’s backpack when he was nabbed after a five-day manhunt.
The suspect’s lawyers have lobbied to “suppress” the contents of the bag from being shown at trial, arguing that the Pennsylvania cops breached Mangione’s constitutional rights by searching him before getting a warrant.
But the Manhattan DA’s Office says it has the right to show jurors the screeds of a man they accuse of carrying out the twisted “act of terrorism” by executing the father of two on the day of UnitedHealthcare’s investor conference.
In an Oct. 22 entry, Mangione –– who grew up in a wealthy, well-known Baltimore family — allegedly fantasized about the news coverage that such a murder would receive.
“The point is made in the news headline Insurance CEO killed at annual investors conference,” the University of Pennsylvania grad allegedly wrote. “It conveys a greedy bastard that had it coming.”
Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Gregory Carro punted on a decision over the diary.
But he dismissed the terrorism charges against Mangione, in a victory for his defense.
Carro also rejected Mangione’s motion to pause the state case while he goes to trial in a separate federal murder case that carries a possible death penalty.
The mixed bag for Mangione didn’t appear to matter for his fans, who didn’t bring their circus inside the courtroom.
They cheered the top charges being dropped, while holding signs such as “Wealth Comes First” and “Lock Up The Real Criminals,” which featured photos of President Trump and Mayor Eric Adams.
One woman named Jasmin, who also wore a Luigi video game character hat, showed off a backpack with Mangione’s image etched in lights.
Another flower-garlanded woman wore a pink shirt with Mangione’s face inside a heart, with “Italian Boys” emblazoned below.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty.
Mangione’s remaining charge of second-degree murder means he’s still charged with intentionally killing Thompson, a father-of-two — just not as an act of terrorism.
He’s due back in court Dec. 1.
