A New York state court employee who was arrested after trying to approach former President Donald Trump and offering to help him during his civil fraud trial has been identified as a secretary for a judge in Queens.
The woman, who New York City police identified as Jenny Hannigan, has been charged with contempt of court after she disrupted proceedings Wednesday in the Manhattan Supreme Court "by standing and walking towards the front of the courtroom [and] yelling out to Mr. Trump," Office of Court Administration spokesman Lucian Chalfen said, reported the New York Post.
Hannigan, 37, of Baldwin, N.Y., was stopped by the court's officials before she could get near Trump and his attorneys at the defense table, and Chalfen said "none of the parties were ever in any danger."
She was charged with one count of second-degree contempt of court for disrupting the proceeding and was given a desk appearance ticket.
Trump, when leaving the court for the day Wednesday afternoon, said he didn't know about the arrest or the disruption in court, telling reporters, "Who got arrested? We didn't know anything about it."
Hannigan at first was asked to take a seat in the courtroom gallery, with an officer asking her to step outside the room.
She went into a hallway, which was packed with reporters, and spoke loudly, saying she was scared, while a group of officers surrounded her and asked her to lower her voice, reports the Post.
A courthouse source said officers escorted her to the courthouse's first floor, and that she was yelling "Help me! Save me" as they handcuffed her.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.