Luigi Mangione on Thursday agreed to be extradited to New York City to face murder charges in the brazen execution of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson — following a court hearing in Pennsylvania where at least 100 protesters showed up to support the accused killer.
The demonstrators waved “Free Luigi” and anti-insurance signs outside the Blair County Courthouse as Mangione, 26, arrived for the extradition hearing.
“Health insurance practices terrorize people,” one sign read, appearing to reference the terror charges that prosecutors are considering filing against Mangione.
“Murder for profit is terrorism, free Luigi,” another sign read.
Adam Giesseman, 33, of Piqua, Ohio, said he had joined the demonstrators outside the courthouse given the infamous nature of the case and the spotlight it has placed on America’s health insurance system.
“I think our country is broken and the people don’t care about the working class. If what is alleged is true, he should suffer the consequences of what is handed to him, but I’m glad he brought attention to the fact that our country is broken.“
Others went as far as to wave signs hailing Mangione as a “hero” for the murder of Thompson, a father of two, and the chaotic five-day manhunt that gripped the nation until his arrest at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 9.
Many of the signs seen outside the courthouse also held the anti-health insurance company slogan, “Deny, Delay, Depose.”
The use of the three-word slogan has skyrocketed in popularity after it was reported that the ominous message was scribbled on ammunition recovered at the Manhattan murder scene.
The words appear to be a criticism of health care companies’ perceived schemes to limit medical claims in pursuit of profits — and play on the title of the 2010 book “Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.”
Mangione is expected to waive extradition at the hearing and be hauled back to Manhattan to face an “exceedingly rare” first-degree murder charge in the murder of Thompson, who was gunned down in front of the Hilton hotel in Midtown.
Once he’s back in the Big Apple, Mangione is scheduled to appear before Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro on an 11-count indictment, a courthouse source confirmed to The Post.
Mangione — a University of Pennsylvania graduate from a prominent Maryland family — faces the possibility of life without parole if convicted of murder as an act of terrorism.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Mangione was indicted on the upgraded charges because the Dec. 4 crime — in which Thompson was gunned down outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown — was “intended to provoke terror.”
First degree is typically charged in cases involving victims who are law enforcement members or possible witnesses to crimes, neither of which Thompson was, with legal experts telling The Post the charge is somewhat of a “reach.”
Mangione also faces two counts of second-degree murder in addition to multiple counts of weapon possession and second-degree forgery charges. He faces 25 years to life on the second-degree murder charge.