Federal authorities have arrested a Wisconsin-based judge amid an investigation into whether she tried to help a migrant lacking permanent legal status avoid arrest after he appeared in her courtroom.
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested Friday on charges connected to obstructing a proceeding and concealing an individual to prevent their arrest
“I can confirm that our @FBI agents just arrested Hannah Dugan — a county judge in Milwaukee — for allegedly helping an illegal alien avoid an arrest by @ICEgov,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote. “No one is above the law.”
Dugan’s arrest marks an aggressive move by the administration on immigration enforcement and a major escalation in its battles with the courts, which have issued decisions pushing back on some of the administration’s actions.
Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D) condemned the arrest, calling it part of a broader attack on judicial power.
“By relentlessly attacking the judicial system, flouting court orders, and arresting a sitting judge, this President is putting those basic Democratic values that Wisconsinites hold dear on the line. While details of this exact case remain minimal, this action fits into the deeply concerning pattern of this President’s lawless behavior and undermining courts and Congress’s checks on his power,” Baldwin said in a statement.
FBI Director Kash Patel also referenced the arrest in a now-deleted social media post.
“Just NOW, the FBI arrested Judge Hannah Dugan out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin on charges of obstruction — after evidence of Judge Dugan obstructing an immigration arrest operation last week,” Patel wrote.
“We believe Judge Dugan intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject to be arrested in her courthouse, Eduardo Flores Ruiz, allowing the subject — an illegal alien — to evade arrest.”
Patel added Flores Ruiz was later “chased down … on foot” and is now in custody.
Dugan has already been released and is set to have an arraignment hearing May 15.
The FBI in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment about why Patel deleted his post. The FBI Field Office in Milwaukee also did not immediately respond to request for comment, nor did the U.S. Marshals.
The Hill has left a message with Milwaukee County Courts Chief Judge Carl Ashley.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported last week that Flores Ruiz, a Mexican national, was arrested after being due in Dugan’s courtroom on three misdemeanor counts of battery stemming from a fight with roommates.
According to court documents, when Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials appeared at the courthouse April 18, they presented a warrant, but Dugan asked for more information and told them they would need to speak with the chief judge before carrying out an arrest.
“Judge Dugan became visibly angry, commented that the situation was ‘absurd,’ left the bench, and entered chambers. At the time, Flores-Ruiz was seated in the gallery of the courtroom,” according to an affidavit filed by the FBI.
Officers then left to speak with the chief judge, which is when Dugan is accused of telling Flores Ruiz and his attorneys to leave through a side door used for the jury.
“The courtroom deputy then saw Judge Dugan get up and heard Judge Dugan say something like ‘Wait, come with me.’ Despite having been advised of the administrative warrant for the arrest of Flores-Ruiz, Judge Dugan then escorted Flores-Ruiz and his counsel out of the courtroom through the ‘jury door, which leads to a nonpublic area of the courthouse.”
The affidavit describes that as unusual, as “defense attorneys and defendants who were not in custody never used the jury door.”
The Journal Sentinel said it was the third time in recent months that ICE officials have come to the courthouse with arrest warrants.
The FBI affidavit indicates Ashley, the chief judge, was crafting a policy to limit where immigration enforcement could be carried out at the courthouse.
“During their conversation, the Chief Judge stated he was working on a policy which would dictate locations within the courthouse where ICE could safely conduct enforcement actions. The Chief Judge emphasized that such actions should not take place in courtrooms or other private locations within the building. Deportation Officer A asked about whether enforcement actions could take place in the hallway,” the document states.
Flores Ruiz was ultimately spotted by officials in the hallway, leading to the foot chase. Court records indicate multiple law enforcement agencies were all on hand to help with the arrest, with officials from the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration agents present.
Under the Biden administration, ICE was prohibited from making arrests in certain sensitive areas such as schools and churches. The Trump administration rescinded that memo and replaced it with a new one in January, outlining specific criteria for conducting immigration enforcement at courthouses.
Other Democrats also criticized the arrest.
“While all the facts are not yet in, the implications of this arrest are chilling. This is a drastic escalation and dangerous new front in Trump’s authoritarian campaign of trying to bully, intimidate, and impeach judges who won’t follow his dictates. We must do whatever we can to defend the independent judiciary in America,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (Md.), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.
“Every American should be deeply troubled by this massive escalation, and Judiciary Democrats are standing strong for judicial independence. This is an unmistakable descent further into authoritarian chaos.”
Updated at 3:20 p.m. EDT
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