The FBI has arrested a Wisconsin judge who is accused of helping an illegal immigrant evade U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents last week, Trump administration officials announced Friday.
Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan of Milwaukee County faces two charges for obstructing the immigrant’s arrest and concealing said individual, according to a criminal complaint dated Thursday. Dugan was arrested at the Milwaukee County courthouse Friday morning.
FBI Director Kash Patel first announced the judge’s arrest in a social media post, which was quickly deleted before it was later reposted.
“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 posted on X.
“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.”
Dugan allegedly escorted Flores Ruiz through a jury door last Friday to let him escape on foot, according to the unsealed criminal complaint. The judge was aware that ICE agents were preparing to execute an administrative warrant for the illegal immigrant’s arrest. Despite her efforts, the man was caught shortly thereafter.
“Thankfully, our agents chased down the perp on foot and he’s been in custody since, but the Judge’s obstruction created increased danger to the public,” Patel wrote.
On March 18, Flores Ruiz was charged with three misdemeanor counts of battery and domestic abuse. He illegally reentered the U.S. from Mexico after receiving an expedited removal order to leave the U.S. in January 2013. There are no records showing he sought or obtained permission to return, federal prosecutors say.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed the judge’s arrest in a statement of her own. “No one is above the law,” she posted in part.
Dugan later appeared in federal court, where her attorney gave a brief statement. “Judge Dugan wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest. It was not made in the interest of public safety,” Craig Mastantuono said.
The judge was released on recognizance, which allows her to be freed from custody without paying bail but requires her to appear in court at a later date. If convicted on the two charges, she could face up to six years in prison.
Republican lawmakers cheered the FBI’s successful arrest of Judge Dugan, according to Axios. Democratic congressmen, on the other hand, claimed the Trump administration is acting above the law by targeting judges, with some even calling for an investigation into the operation.
Dugan is not the first judge to face repercussions for assisting an illegal immigrant.
On Thursday, a former New Mexico judge and his wife were taken into custody by ICE agents for allegedly harboring an alleged Tren de Aragua member in their home. Each face two charges of evidence-tampering. The former magistrate judge, Joel Cano, resigned last month and is now permanently barred from serving on the bench in New Mexico as a result of a state supreme court ruling this week.