The FBI on April 25 arrested a Milwaukee judge accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities, escalating a clash between the Trump administration and the judiciary over the Republican president’s sweeping immigration crackdown.
FBI Director Kash Patel bragged on social media about the arrest of Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan, who he claimed “intentionally misdirected” federal agents away from a man they were trying to take into custody at her courthouse last week.
“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.
JudgeDugan was taken into custody by the FBI on April 25 on the courthouse grounds, according to U.S. Marshals Service spokesperson Brady McCarron. She appeared briefly in federal court in Milwaukee later before being released from custody. Her next court appearance is May 15.
“Judge Dugan wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest. It was not made in the interest of public safety,” her attorney, Craig Mastantuono, said during the hearing. He declined to comment further following her court appearance.
Judge Dugan is charged with “concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest” and obstructing or impeding a proceeding. She was accused of escorting the man, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, and his lawyer out of the courtroom through the jury door on April 18 as a way to help avert his arrest, according to an FBI affidavit filed in court.
The affidavit suggests that Judge Dugan was alerted to the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the courthouse by her clerk, who was informed by an attorney that they appeared to be in the hallway.
The affidavit claims Judge Dugan was “visibly angry” over the arrival of immigration agents in the courthouse and says that she pronounced the situation “absurd” before leaving the bench and retreating to her chambers. It also says she and another judge later approached members of the arrest team inside the courthouse.
She asked one of the officers if they had a judicial warrant and was told that the warrant was instead administrative.
An administrative warrant is issued by ICE itself, specifically by ICE officers, and is not signed by a judge or court. Administrative warrants do not grant authority to forcibly enter private property without permission. In addition, people are not legally required to comply with an ICE administrative warrant at their home.
After a back-and-forth over the warrant, the affidavit claims, she demanded that the arrest team speak with the chief judge and led them away from the courtroom.
Investigators then say Judge Dugan returned to the courtroom and was heard saying words to the effect of “wait, come with me” before ushering Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer through a jury door into a non-public area of the courthouse.
Judge Dugan’s arrest comes amid a growing feud between the Trump administration and the judiciary over the president’s executive actions on immigration and other matters. Trump administration officials have sharply criticized what they have described as “activist” judges they claim have overstepped their authority and unfairly impinged on the president’s executive powers by blocking many of his efforts.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, in a statement on the arrest, accused the Trump administration of repeatedly using “dangerous rhetoric to attack and attempt to undermine our judiciary at every level.”
“I have deep respect for the rule of law, our nation’s judiciary, the importance of judges making decisions impartially without fear or favor, and the efforts of law enforcement to hold people accountable if they commit a crime,” Governor Evers said. “I will continue to put my faith in our justice system as this situation plays out in the court of law.”
U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat who represents Wisconsin, called the arrest of a sitting judge a “gravely serious and drastic move” that “threatens to breach” the separation of power between the executive and judicial branches.
“Make no mistake, we do not have kings in this country and we are a Democracy governed by laws that everyone must abide by,” Baldwin said in an emailed statement. “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.”
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley issued statement saying that he was extremely concerned about the Trump regime’s continued intention to instill fear and hostility across local communities.
“Like all United States citizens, Judge Hannah Dugan is entitled to her constitutional right to due process. However, it is clear that the FBI is politicizing this situation to make an example of her and others across the country who oppose their attack on the judicial system and our nation’s immigration laws,” said County Executive Crowley. “FBI Director Kash Patel issued a public statement on X, which he hurriedly deleted, making unsubstantiated claims about Judge Dugan’s case before charges were officially filed and she could have her moment in court.”
The County Executive added that Director Patel’s statement showed that Trump’s FBI was more concerned about weaponizing federal law enforcement, punishing people without due process, and intimidating anyone who opposes those policies, than they are with seeking justice.
Judge Dugan’s case is similar to one brought during the first Trump administration against a Massachusetts judge, who was accused of helping a man sneak out a back door of a courthouse to evade a waiting immigration enforcement agent.
That prosecution sparked outrage from many in the legal community, who slammed the case as politically motivated. Prosecutors dropped the case against Newton District Judge Shelley Joseph in 2022 under the Democratic 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 signaled that it was going to crack down on local officials who thwart federal immigration efforts.
The department in January ordered prosecutors to investigate for potential criminal charges any state and local officials who obstruct or impede federal functions. As potential avenues for prosecution, a memo cited a conspiracy offense as well as a law prohibiting the harboring of people in the country illegally.
“No one is above the law,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a social media post on April 25.
However, it should be noted that Bondi did nothing to stop the blatantly unconstitutional and illegal acts that were committed daily for weeks in February and March by the DOGE team run by South African oligarch Elon Musk, which stole private records of American citizens.
In addition, Bondi has ignored actions by nearly every member of Trump’s cabinet who have evaded established laws, including Trump’s own refusal to follow the Supreme Court’s decision to return a Maryland father who, under Trump’s direction, was kidnapped by ICE agents and sent to El Salvator without judicial due process.
Judge Dugan was elected in 2016 to the Milwaukee County court Branch 31. She also has served in the court’s probate and civil divisions, according to her judicial candidate biography.
Before being elected to public office, Judge Dugan practiced 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 earned her Juris Doctorate in 1987 from the school. In 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union, she was also part of a special commission that spent time in Ukraine teaching about the U.S. justice system.
In a 2016 interview with Milwaukee Independent, Judge Dugan said:
“Justice is hard work. I love the challenge of such hard work. The rule of law and precedential law is meant to provide consistency and predictably to create order and safety. And yet the law also offers the capacity to transform people’s lives and evolve with changing times and circumstances. I love the challenge of law to meet the promise of equal justice and its capacity to bring hope to people.”
