Luigi Mangione Seen in New Courtroom Pics at Pretrial Hearing in NYC Case

Luigi Mangione is getting a respite from the federal detention center he currently calls home ... because he's back in a courthouse ... at least for a little bit.

Luigi was back in court Monday for a pretrial hearing in his New York state case ... where he's accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Dec. 4 last year.

Luigi bypassed most of the crowd on his way into court Monday morning, arriving through a side door in the courtroom -- but we caught a couple photographs of him … here he is wearing a gray suit with a white checkered shirt. He showed up in handcuffs, but a guard uncuffed him before he sat down.

He wore a slight smile as he conferred with his attorneys. He took a look around and gave a slight nod to the assembled gallery.

We haven't seen Luigi since his last court appearance back in mid-September, when he got a couple terrorism charges dismissed in the state case.

Last week, Luigi's defense filed a pretrial motion renewing their request to have him unshackled in court ... he wants at least one hand free from handcuffs so he can write.

Luigi's defense is also fighting to keep some alleged evidence out of court ... including his statements to law enforcement during his 2024 arrest at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, as well as a backpack cops found.

Luigi fans may want to soak this all in ... the next time they see him will likely be Jan. 9, when he is due back in court in his federal death penalty case.