Wisconsin judge indicted on allegations she helped man evade ICE agents

Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested past period aft prosecutors said she helped a antheral evade national migration agents.

A justice successful the United States has been indicted by a national expansive assemblage connected charges of concealing a idiosyncratic from apprehension and obstruction of proceedings aft she was accused of helping an undocumented migrant evade authorities.

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan, 66, was arrested past period aft prosecutors said she hindered the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who showed up to apprehension the antheral without a judicial warrant extracurricular her courtroom.

Prosecutors alleged she tried to assistance Eduardo Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer permission the courtroom from the backmost assemblage doorway earlier his apprehension extracurricular the building.

Dugan faces up to six years successful situation if she’s convicted connected some counts. Craig Mastantuono, 1 of Dugan’s lawyers, said successful a connection that Dugan “asserts her innocence and looks guardant to being vindicated successful court”.

Dugan, who was elected successful 2016, is expected to plead not blameworthy astatine the adjacent proceeding scheduled for Thursday.

Demonstrators protestation successful beforehand of the national tribunal wherever Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan appeared aft being arrested by the FBI arsenic she arrived for enactment astatine the Milwaukee County Courthouse connected April 25, 2025, successful Milwaukee, Wisconsin [File: Scott Olson/Getty Images via AFP]

According to tribunal documents, ​​Flores-Ruiz had illegally re-entered the US aft being deported successful 2013.

According to online authorities tribunal records, helium was charged with 3 counts of misdemeanour home maltreatment successful Milwaukee County successful March, to which helium was successful tribunal successful April for a hearing.

Court documents suggest Dugan was alerted that the migration agents appeared successful the court’s hallway by her clerk.

In an affidavit, Dugan was described arsenic visibly aggravated implicit their accomplishment and called the concern “absurd” earlier leaving the seat and returning to her chambers.

She and different justice aboriginal approached the ICE agents successful the tribunal with what witnesses described arsenic a “confrontational, aggravated demeanour”.

After a back-and-forth implicit the warrant for Flores-Ruiz, Dugan demanded they talk with the main justice and led them distant from the courtroom, according to the affidavit.

When she returned to the courtroom, she was heard telling Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer to travel with her, and they were ushered retired done a backmost assemblage door.

Flores-Ruiz was aboriginal captured by national agents extracurricular the tribunal aft a ft chase.

The indictment is the latest incidental successful President Donald Trump’s crackdown connected migration and section authorities.

Democrats person accused Trump’s medication of trying to marque an illustration of Dugan to quell judicial opposition.