MILWAUKEE — On Friday, the FBI took a Milwaukee judge into custody, alleging she aided a man in avoiding immigration officials. This action intensifies the conflict between the Trump administration and the judiciary regarding the president’s broad immigration enforcement efforts.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced on social media the arrest of Hannah Dugan, a Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge. He stated that she “intentionally misdirected” federal agents who were attempting to apprehend a man at her courthouse the previous week.
Patel wrote, “Thankfully, our agents pursued and apprehended the suspect on foot, and he has been in custody since. However, the Judge’s obstruction heightened the risk to the public.”
According to U.S. Marshals Service spokesperson Brady McCarron, Dugan was arrested by the FBI on courthouse grounds Friday morning. She made a brief appearance in federal court in Milwaukee later that day before being released. Her next court date is scheduled for May 15.
During the hearing, Dugan’s attorney, Craig Mastantuono, stated, “Judge Dugan strongly regrets and objects to her arrest, which was not in the interest of public safety.” He declined to provide further comments to an Associated Press reporter following her court appearance.
Dugan faces charges of “concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest” and obstructing or impeding a legal proceeding. She is accused of escorting Eduardo Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer out of the courtroom through the jury exit on April 18 to help him avoid arrest, as detailed in an FBI affidavit filed in court.
The affidavit suggests that Dugan was alerted to the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at the courthouse by her clerk, who had been informed by an attorney about their presence in the hallway.
According to the affidavit, Dugan appeared “visibly angry” upon learning about the arrival of immigration agents at the courthouse and called the situation “absurd” before leaving the bench and going to her chambers. It also states that she and another judge later approached the arrest team inside the courthouse, displaying what witnesses described as a “confrontational, angry demeanor.”
She inquired whether the officers possessed a judicial warrant and was informed that the warrant was administrative. Following an exchange regarding the warrant, the affidavit alleges that she insisted the arrest team speak with the chief judge and led them away from the courtroom.
Investigators claim that after directing the arrest team to the chief judge’s office, Dugan returned to the courtroom and was overheard saying something like “wait, come with me” before escorting Flores-Ruiz and his attorney through a jury door into a restricted area of the courthouse. The affidavit notes that this action was unusual because “only deputies, juries, court staff, and in-custody defendants being escorted by deputies used the back jury door. Defense attorneys and defendants who were not in custody never used the jury door.”
Dugan’s arrest occurs amidst increasing tension between the Trump administration and the judiciary concerning the president’s executive orders on immigration and other issues. Trump administration officials have strongly criticized what they consider “activist” judges who they allege have exceeded their authority and unfairly interfered with the president’s executive powers by obstructing many of his initiatives.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, described the arrest of a sitting judge as a “gravely serious and drastic move” that “threatens to breach” the separation of powers between the executive and judicial branches.
Baldwin stated in an emailed statement, “Let us be clear, we do not have monarchs in this nation. Our democracy is governed by laws that apply to everyone. This President is jeopardizing the fundamental democratic values cherished by Wisconsinites by relentlessly attacking the judicial system, disregarding court rulings, and detaining a sitting judge.”
The case bears resemblance to a case brought during the first Trump administration against a Massachusetts judge, who was accused of helping a man escape through a back exit of a courthouse to avoid an immigration enforcement agent.
That prosecution ignited outrage among many in the legal community, who denounced it as politically driven. Prosecutors dropped the case against Newton District Judge Shelley Joseph in 2022 under the Biden administration after she agreed to refer herself to a state agency that investigates allegations of misconduct by members of the bench.
The Justice Department had previously indicated its intention to crack down on local officials who hinder federal immigration efforts.
In January, the department instructed prosecutors to investigate state and local officials for potential criminal charges if they obstruct or impede federal functions. A memo cited a conspiracy offense and a law prohibiting the harboring of undocumented individuals as potential avenues for prosecution.
Attorney General Pam Bondi stated in a social media post on Friday, “No one is above the law.”
Dugan was elected to the county court, Branch 31, in 2016. According to her judicial candidate biography, she has also served in the court’s probate and civil divisions.
Prior to being elected to public office, Dugan worked at Legal Action of Wisconsin and the Legal Aid Society. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1981 with a bachelor of arts degree and received her Juris Doctorate from the same institution in 1987.
—Richer reported from Washington. Associated Press reporter Eric Tucker in Washington contributed.
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