Luigi Mangione is about to go before a judge … and the NYC courthouse is packed to the gills with folks who traveled from across the country to get a glimpse of the man accused of killing a healthcare CEO.

The accused killer’s first court appearance since December is happening today on the 15th floor of a Lower Manhattan courthouse, where people waited for hours in the freezing cold just for a chance to get inside and see Luigi.

One of those hopefuls is Brooke Warner … a 28-year-old woman from Utah who tells us she flew to the Big Apple with her fiancé just for Luigi’s hearing.

Case in point for Brooke … “We want everyone to know the perp walk pissed us off.”

Mason Dipietro, a 22-year-old college student, took a bus from Massachusetts and got in line at 5 AM … telling us he’s there because he wants Luigi’s case to lead to healthcare reform.

Mason says he doesn’t know if Luigi was the gunman who killed Brian Thompson, but he doesn’t think Mangione is getting a fair trial … and says he’s innocent until proven guilty.

Lauren Davidson-Ibarra traveled all the way from Los Angeles … she was one of the first 5 people in line at 3 AM, and says she’s an attorney who wants to observe the case in person.

Lauren says Luigi’s case is fascinating and she wants to see him with her own eyes.

For others, the commute was a lot shorter … a 60-year-old local who came by herself and got in line at 5 AM tells us she’s here because she’s upset with the U.S. healthcare industry … which she says is a for-profit system where a select few are getting rich off the deaths of innocent people.

Like most people waiting for Luigi, she says he’s not getting a fair shake … telling us the terrorism charge is “completely outrageous,” and the first-degree murder charge isn’t warranted either.