FBI Arrests Wisconsin Judge for Allegedly Obstructing ICE, Trump Admin Says
The FBI arrested a Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, circuit judge for allegedly assisting an illegal immigrant in evading arrest, confirmed top officials with the Trump administration on Friday.
Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested on obstruction charges, Patel confirmed in a post on X on Friday. The FBI made the arrest “after evidence of Judge Dugan obstructing an immigration arrest operation last week,” he added “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,” the FBI director said.
Patel said that Flores-Ruiz is also in federal custody but added that the judge’s alleged “obstruction created increased danger to the public.”
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi later confirmed on social media that Dugan was arrested for allegedly helping an illegal immigrant evade U.S. Immigration and Enforcement (ICE) officials. Other details about the alleged incident were not provided by either Patel or Bondi. Court records detailing Dugan’s arrest show that she was charged with obstructing or impeding a proceeding before a department or agency of the United States and concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest.
An Associated Press reporter said that Dugan appeared in a federal court hearing on Friday, and she was released from custody. A lawyer for Dugan, Craig Mastantuono, said during the court hearing that the judge “wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest. It was not made in the interest of public safety,” according to the AP reporter.
In the court filing that was unsealed Friday, it included an affidavit from a FBI special agent who provided more details about the incident. When federal immigration agents traveled to the Milwaukee County Courthouse with an arrest warrant to detain Flores-Ruiz earlier this month, at one point, Dugan escorted the man through a jury door to allegedly avoid being arrested
“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 FBI special agent said, adding that the scenario was “unusual.”
Later, Flores-Ruiz escaped the courthouse and was arrested by federal agents “after a foot chase,” the affidavit said.
Dugan has been a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge since 2016 and typically oversees misdemeanor cases, according to the court’s website and her LinkedIn page. She ran for reelection unopposed for the Branch 31 division in 2022, and her current term is scheduled to end in August 2028. The Trump administration has said it would investigate and prosecute local officials who refuse to comply with federal immigration efforts.
Days after President Donald Trump took office in January, the Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a memo ordering federal prosecutors to investigate local or state officials who allegedly are obstructing efforts to detain or arrest illegal immigrants. That memo had warned that the DOJ could prosecute local officials under a law that prohibits conspiracy to commit an offense against or defraud the federal government, which carries a prison term of up to five years for each count.
Trump Appoints Judge Jeanine Pirro as Interim US Attorney for DC
President Donald Trump announced on May 8 that Judge Jeanine Pirro, best known for her role as a Fox News commentator, had been tapped to serve as interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, one of the most influential prosecutorial positions in the country.
“I am pleased to announce that Judge Jeanine Pirro will be appointed interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “Jeanine is incredibly well qualified for this position, and is considered one of the Top District Attorneys in the History of the State of New York. She is in a class by herself. Congratulations Jeanine!” The U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia is uniquely influential, as the post entails oversight of both federal and local D.C. code. It handles cases ranging from homicide to political corruption to federal fraud violations.
“Jeanine was Assistant District Attorney for Westchester County, New York, and then went on to serve as County Judge, and District Attorney, where she was the first woman ever to be elected to those positions. During her time in office, Jeanine was a powerful crusader for victims of crime. Her establishment of the Domestic Violence Bureau in her Prosecutor’s Office was the first in the Nation.”
“She excelled in all ways,” Trump said.
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