FBI agents arrested a Milwaukee judge on Friday for obstructing immigration agents, saying she led an undocumented immigrant through a side door in the court while agents were waiting to arrest him in a public corridor.
The decision of the current state court judge in charge is a major escalation in the Trump administration’s struggle with local authorities on the expulsion. The government demanded that local officials do not hinder federal efforts to deport millions of undocumented immigrants under the threat of investigation or prosecution, and the arrests conveyed a message that the government intends to be more difficult with those who do it.
Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested after tensions between the Trump administration and the judiciary increased. President Trump and his top advisers have repeatedly attacked “local judges” to stop the measures taken by the administration, especially in immigration cases.
Mr. Trump’s drive to bypass and expel large numbers of immigrants has also led to other disputes with federal judges, especially in the use of the Alien Enemy Act to send Venezuelans to the country.
In the Milwaukee case, the fee documents describe the confrontation that took place in Judge Dugan’s court last Friday, and federal agents said she was “apparently frustrated and had an adversarial, angry manner” when a group of immigrants, DEA and FBI agents came to Michesis’ citizens.
According to the criminal proceedings, the judge faces the agents and tells them to speak with the chief judge of the court. Then, she returned to court.
“Although he was informed of the administrative warrant for the arrest of Flores Ruiz, Judge Dugan then accompanied Flores Ruiz and his attorneys to withdraw from the court through the ‘jury gate’, which led to a non-public area of the court.”
The complaint said a DEA agent discovered Mr. Flores Ruiz had left the building and informed his colleagues. Agents approached him on the street outside the court. “The chase followed.” The complaint said, “The agent hunted Flores Ruiz over the entire length of the court,” and then arrested and arrested him.
The judge was charged with obstructing federal agencies’ lawsuits and covering up a person to prevent his discovery and arrest.
The defendant made a brief appearance in the federal court in Milwaukee, about a mile from her own court, and the judge was released with his approval.
The judge’s defense panel said in a statement that she would fight the charges.
“Judge Dugan will defend herself vigorously and look forward to being exempted,” the statement said, adding that she hired former U.S. attorney Steven Biskupic to represent her. “Judge Hannah C. Dugan promised to adhere to the principles of the rule of law and her due process throughout her career as a lawyer and judge.”
FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on social media on Friday that the bureau had arrested Judge Dugan for allegedly “deliberately misleading federal agents.”
Milwaukee County executive David Crowley criticized the FBI’s handling of the case.
“It is obvious that the FBI is politicizing this situation to be an example of others across the country who oppose attacks on the judicial system and our country’s immigration laws,” he said in a statement.
Wisconsin’s Democratic Gov. Tony Evers also expressed concern about how the Trump administration treats the judges. “Unfortunately, in recent months, the President and the Trump administration have repeatedly used dangerous rhetoric to attack and try to undermine our judiciary at all levels, including violating the Supreme Court on the land, and threatening to impeach each and remove judges who do not support their advantage.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi defended the judge’s arrest, telling Fox News that when someone “escorted the criminal defendant out of the back door, it would be intolerable.”
“Whoever you are, you will be prosecuted.” Ms. Bundy said.
Ms. Bundy also discussed the recent arrest of a former judge in New Mexico, who was charged with obstruction for possessing a federal agent who said he was a member of the Venezuelan gang.
“Some of these judges think they are beyond the law. They are not,” she said. “We will follow you and sue you. We will find you.”
Christopher A. Weilborn, president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
He added: “The executive retaliation seems to undermine this foundation and demands our unwavering scrutiny and quick response.”
Milwaukee County Chief Justice Carl Ashley said in a statement that Judge Dugan’s case will be handled by another jurist in the court and declined to comment further.
The Trump administration vowed to investigate and prosecute local officials who did not assist federal immigration law enforcement, condemning what they called “sanctuary cities” because they did not do more to assist federal arrests and deportations of millions of undocumented immigrants.
There is no exact legal definition for sanctuary cities, but the term usually refers to the place where local governments can help federal authorities through their deportation efforts. Although the differences over immigration enforcement are often political and policy struggles, there are also significant differences between federal and local laws, which help different approaches.
At the Justice Department, senior officials urged prosecutors to look for local authorities, whether municipalities, states, or court officials, to try to stop or block immigration agents.
The Milwaukee case involved frequent flash points in the debate when immigration agents tried to arrest immigrants who appeared in state courts. Local authorities often create taints in such efforts, believing that people who deal with relatively small legal issues think it is unsafe to enter the courts, they will endanger public safety.
A witness said the allegation documents against Judge Dugan showed she was happy to learn that the immigration agent was in the court and called it “absurd”.
At first, the judge asked the immigration agent if he had a hearing in the court, and when the agent refused, the judge “sayed the agent needed to leave the court building”, according to the complaint.
The complaint said that Judge Dugan then asked the agent whether he had a judicial arrest warrant, and the agent replied No, which was an administrative arrest warrant. ICEs usually use administrative warrants issued by the agency to arrest people.
Such warrants do not have the same authority as warrants issued by judges, meaning people in their homes usually do not need to open doors to immigration agents, only administrative warrants.
In the first Trump administration, local Massachusetts judges were prosecuted for allegations of obstructing immigration authorities. The charges were dropped after the judge agreed to submit himself to potential judicial discipline.
The case also involves accusing the judge of allowing the defendant to seek ice sheet agents to leave the building through the back door to avoid being detained. The Massachusetts Judicial Conduct Commission has filed formal disciplinary charges against Judge Shelley Joseph. She denied wrongdoing.
Glen Thrush,,,,, Julie Bosman and Chris Cameron Contribution report.
