Federal agents arrested a Wisconsin judge and charged her with allegedly not arrested undocumented immigrants.
Announcement of her arrest, FBI director Kash Patel accused Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan of “intentionally misdesignating” immigration agents from a Mexican man who was about to arrest last week.
“Thankfully, our agent chased perp on foot and he has been in custody ever since, but the judge’s obstruction has made it more dangerous for the public,” Patel writes to X.
During a preliminary court hearing on Friday, Dugan’s lawyer said: “I have sincere regret and I protest my arrest. It was not made in the interest of public safety.”
The judge has been charged with obstruction and personal concealment to avoid arrest, and faces up to six years in prison if convicted of both charges.
Dugan was released on her own recognition, waiting for a hearing on May 15th.
The fee comes from an event held last week in Dugan’s courtroom.
On April 17, an immigration judge issued an arrest warrant for Eduardo Flores Luis, a Mexican national facing three misdemeanor batteries resulting from a domestic fight.
The next day, Flores Lewis appeared for a scheduled hearing in Milwaukee Court, where six U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) officers, the FBI and drug enforcement agencies arrived at the court to make their arrests.
The agent surrendered herself to court officials and waited outside Dugan’s courtroom, but according to the FBI affidavit, the judge commented that “become visibly angry and that the situation was “absurd,” leaving the bench and commented when she learned of her existence.
In the hallway outside the courthouse, Dugan and the unnamed agent subsequently discussed the type of arrest warrant issued and directed them before the judge told them to report to the county Supreme Court’s office.
According to the affidavit, several agents were in the office, but the judge led Flores Lewis and his lawyers to a side door targeting ju apprentices leading out of the court.
However, the affidavit says that the two agents remained close to the courtroom and found Flores Lewis in an attempt to escape.
Flores Lewis, who authorities said had previously been deported from the United States in 2013, was able to leave the court, but was arrested after a short leg pursuit just minutes later.
Dugan’s arrest came the day after a former New Mexico judge was taken to detention where he was accused of carrying a Venezuelan gang member in his home.
“I think some of these judges think they’re beyond the law and not,” Attorney General Pam Bondy told Fox News in an interview Friday.
“And if you are destroying evidence, if you are obstructing justice, when you are a victim sitting in a domestic violence court, and when you are escorting criminal defendants to the back door, that is not tolerated.”
The response to the arrest was largely split along partisan lines.
Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Democrat, called it “a serious and dramatic move.”
“Don’t make mistakes. We don’t have a king in this country. We are a democracy ruled by laws that everyone must adhere to,” Baldwin said in a statement. “By mercilessly attacking the judicial system, disrespecting court orders and arresting sitting judges, the president places the fundamental democratic values ​​Wisconsinians cherish the boundaries.”
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson also criticized the arrest, calling it “showboating” and warned that the court proceedings had a “serious effect.”
Ron Johnson, a Republican U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Dugan was first elected to judge in 2016 and re-elected for his second six-year term in 2022.
Although Wisconsin’s judicial elections are nonpartisan, Dugan was approved by the Democratic mayor of Milwaukee.
Obstruction charges will result in a fine of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, while concealment fees can be punished by fines of up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.
In 2019, during the first Trump administration, a Massachusetts judge was arrested after allowing undocumented immigrant defendants to recover their property from court lockups. The immigrants left the court.
Judge Shelley M. Richmond Joseph was charged with obstruction, but the charges were removed in 2022, but she still faces ongoing ethical complaints stemming from the incident.
