An activist labeled as “woke” and notorious for dispatching numerous offensive emails and threats received minimal reprimand and was praised as “highly intelligent” by a civil judge. This occurred even though she arrived at court two hours late and physically shoved the person suing her in the presence of court officials and her mother.
The legal proceedings on Wednesday endured a wait of an hour and a half before Anne Marie Bompart eventually showed up for a hearing concerning a $40 million defamation lawsuit brought forth by two West Village lesbian bars, Henrietta Hudson and Cubbyhole.
Her attendance at the hearing was uncertain, as court documents revealed her lawyer admitted that she had not responded to his communications for weeks, and he was requesting to withdraw as her attorney.
Judge James d’Auguste proceeded with Wednesday’s hearing in her absence, emphasizing that the goal was not incarceration but rather to understand “the reasons behind her actions, given her apparent high intelligence.”
Despite Bompart having broken a court mandate prohibiting contact with the plaintiffs on at least 70 occasions, and having inundated the judge’s clerks with enough emails to be flagged as “spam,” d’Auguste indicated he would recommend her for an outpatient 730 psychiatric assessment.
As if on cue, Bompart entered, with three court officers and her mother tailing after her.
Following a brief discussion with her lawyer Gerard Lucciola outside the courtroom, Bompart re-entered defiantly and made contact with Cubbyhole manager Vic Smith — one of the focal points of her activist campaign — by placing her hand on his shoulder as she passed by.
“Do not touch me,” shouted Smith, as the judge, five court officers, supporters of the bars and Bompart’s mother watched.
Smith had a criminal order of protection against Bompart for most of the past year, and recently filed a new criminal harassment complaint after receiving at least 70 emails from her, despite a civil court order of no contact.
“Oh, but you can touch me?” Bompart replied, alluding to her claims that Smith once pulled a chair out from under her nearly two years ago.
The altercation merited no response from the judge, who instead thanked Bompart for arriving, nearly two hours late, to court.
D’Auguste said the court’s role was not to determine what Bompart’s actions were, but why.
“It’s something that could land you in jail, and so the question is, why?” the judge said. “Because it’s not rational.”
As the judge spoke, Bompart made a heart with her hands towards a New York Post photographer — followed by a pair of extended middle fingers.
“She’s not fit to be in an outpatient setting,” the bars’ attorney Tom Shanahan said. “She’s not taking this seriously the way she just conducted herself in a court of law. This is coddling of a felon — I think she is a felon.”
Bompart has not been charged or convicted of a felony.
“I’m hopeful,” d’Auguste said, “since Ms. Bompart, irrespective of the issues, is a very intelligent person.”
Bompart asked to speak, then launched into a conspiratorial manic rant about how Shanahan was “evil” and colluded with the district attorney to steal her cell phone.
“I have experienced lots of consequences,” Bompart said. “My life has been destroyed. All my friends hate me. People think I’m evil.”
“They can’t get enough of me. That’s why they’re all here. They love me,” Bompart said, channeling her inner Norma Desmond. “Vic is upset that he never gets laid, and that’s what this whole thing is about.”
“You see, this is the type of self control you’re not exhibiting,” the judge said. “If you wouldn’t have sent the emails, you literally wouldn’t be here today.”
