FBI agents were arrested Friday, and a Milwaukee judge was charged with obstructing justice, while guiding undocumented immigrants from court as federal immigration agents waited in the corridor to arrest him.
Judge Hannah C. Dugan was arrested, quickly condemned by Democratic leaders and prompted protests in Wisconsin.
But U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi defended the move, saying Judge Dugan’s arrest law sent a “strong message” to the judge that the Trump administration would prosecute them by “suspecting the judicial system by accompanying criminal defendants backdoors.”
After his arrest, FBI Director Kash Patel posted a picture of her on handcuffs on X, adding: “No one is beyond the law.”
The arrest raised several questions – many of which remained unanswered. That’s all we know so far.
What happened the day Judge Dugan was arrested?
On April 18, six federal officials arrived at the Milwaukee County Courthouse and arrested Mexican national Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, where he was heard on the fort charges.
At the hearing, an attorney told Judge Dugan that the agents of immigration and customs enforcement were outside her court, according to a criminal complaint against her. She called the situation “absurd” and left the bench.
Judge Dugan then spoke with federal agents, telling them they needed a judicial arrest warrant and spoke with the Milwaukee County chief judge.
One of the officials spoke with Chief Justice Carl Ashley, who told officials there is one policy in the policy that people can be arrested in court ice agents. But he “stressed that such actions should not be conducted in court or other private locations.” Chief Justice Ashley told agents that the corridor was an area where arrests were possible.
As Mr. Flores Ruiz and his lawyer left the court, Judge Dugan told them: “Wait, be with me.” Court records show the attorney saw her door through a door leading to a “non-public” area of the court.
The complaint said that the agents saw Mr. Flores Ruiz and his lawyer in the public corridor, an agent who entered the elevator with them and watched them leave the building but was not immediately arrested. Then, other agents arrested him in the street after chasing.
A week later, FBI agents arrested Judge Dugan in court. She was charged with obstructing immigration officers and hiding someone to prevent arrest.
Attorney Craig Mastantuono appeared on Friday on behalf of Justice Dugan, calling her arrest “very unusual” and noted that federal law enforcement could have contacted her first for inquiries or asked her to turn to herself.
Who is Judge Dugan?
Judge Dugan, 65, has provided legal services to the poor for most of her career, specializing in housing and the public interest.
In 1995, she represented people busy on downtown sidewalks, deeming that it was unconstitutional to forbid them to do so. She was elected as a judge in 2016 and did not object to re-election in 2022. Her current tenure will end in 2028.
Milwaukee attorney Ann Jacobs, who once appeared in court, described Judge Dugan as a “very small judge.”
After appearing on Friday, Judge Dugan was released with his approval. Her legal team vowed to file charges. Her case is scheduled to be held on May 15.
Who is Mr. Flores Ruth and what happened to his case?
According to the criminal lawsuit against him, Flores-Ruiz, a Mexican national in the early 1930s, was held in court on April 18 to hear his three misdemeanor battery charges in March.
Records show Mr. Flores-Ruiz fights with his roommate, who asks him to reject the music he is playing. Mr. Flores Ruiz hit him about 30 times, and also hit his roommate’s girlfriend and her cousin, the roommate said.
But federal officials tried to arrest Mr. Flores Ruiz for another reason: he also faced illegal federal re-offending.
Mr. Flores-Ruiz was deported from the United States in January 2013 under the expedited dismissal order, which is usually issued to those who have no proper documents and are quickly detained. His attorney, Martin Pruhs, said in an interview that Mr. Flores-Ruiz returned to the country shortly after being deported, had been living in Milwaukee and served as a chef for about 12 years.
Mr. Prous said he had no criminal record before the misdemeanor charge.
Last week, six federal officials from four agencies – the FBI, Ice, Customs and Border Protection and the Drug Enforcement Agency – were involved in his arrest last week. Complaints against Judge Dugan said the agents were wearing streetwear and planned to arrest Mr. Flores Ruiz in a “low-key” and safe manner. It also explains that law enforcement officers usually arrest people in court because they know the people they are seeking will be unarmed.
The number of agents present raised questions, and some wondered if too many arrests of an immigrant. But others say the number may not be very unusual, especially when the agent plans to make multiple arrests that day.
Mr. Flores-Ruiz is currently in jail at the Ozaukee County Jail in Port Washington, Wisconsin.
What are the potential effects of arrests?
The arrests of Judge Dugan and Mr. Flores Ruiz have left experts wondering how other immigration cases and the court system have been affected.
As federal agents attempted to arrest Mr. Flores Ruiz in court, Ms. Jacobs, a Milwaukee lawyer, feared that undocumented people would be afraid of attending later testimony would be helpful.
Ms. Jacobs, who is also chairman of the Wisconsin Election Commission, said Judge Dugan’s arrest was so “deep and unheard of” that it was difficult to foresee that it could affect the judge’s conduct. She added that it seemed to be to make the judge afraid to disengage from any stance from the Trump administration.
Some people are worried about what the case means for democracy and the future in the United States. “Our democracy, our country is under attack,” said Ann Rohrer, a health care worker from Wavatosa, Wisconsin.
Ms. Rohrer, 62, was one of hundreds who protested against Judge Dugan outside a FBI building in St. Francis, Wisconsin on Saturday.
“Everything that makes America great is under attack,” she said.
Devlin Barrett,,,,, Julie Bosman and Robert Chiarito Contribution report.
