On Tuesday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that Judge Hannah Dugan will be “temporarily prohibited from exercising the powers of a circuit court judge” while facing criminal charges stemming from her alleged interference in a federal immigration arrest. The court’s order noted that the move was necessary “in order to uphold the public’s confidence” in the judiciary.
The ruling comes just days after Dugan was arrested by federal agents at the Milwaukee County Courthouse. She is charged with two counts: obstruction and concealing an individual from arrest. Dugan made her first court appearance Friday and was released on her own recognizance. Her attorney told reporters outside the courthouse, “Judge Dugan wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest. It was not made in the interest of public safety,” according to the Associated Press.
The charges stem from an April 18 incident in Dugan’s courtroom. According to court records, plainclothes ICE agents were stationed outside the courtroom waiting to arrest Eduardo Flores Ruiz, an illegal alien who had just appeared before Judge Dugan. The federal affidavit says the judge “became visibly angry, commented that the situation was ‘absurd,’ left the bench, and entered chambers” upon learning the agents were in the courthouse.
Witnesses told investigators that Dugan returned to confront the agents in a public hallway, allegedly demanding they leave and insisting they needed a different kind of warrant to make an arrest. She also reportedly involved the courthouse’s chief judge in the confrontation according to CNN.
After the hearing resumed, Judge Dugan allegedly intervened to prevent Flores Ruiz and his lawyer from leaving through the main entrance. Instead, she directed them to exit through a side jury door, apparently to avoid detection by ICE agents. According to court records, agents eventually located Flores Ruiz outside the courthouse and took him into custody following a short pursuit.
“The FBI arrested Judge Hannah Dugan out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin on charges of obstruction — after evidence of Judge Dugan obstructing an immigration arrest operation last week,” said former Trump administration official Kash Patel in a statement posted to X. “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.”
“Thankfully our agents chased down the perp on foot and he’s been in custody since, but the Judge’s obstruction created increased danger to the public,” Patel added.Dugan’s next court hearing is scheduled for May 15.
This case is not without precedent. Massachusetts Judge Shelley Joseph was charged by federal authorities for allegedly helping an illegal immigrant avoid ICE detention by directing a court officer to sneak him out a back door. Though the Biden Justice Department dropped those charges in 2022, she still faces potential disciplinary action from the state’s Commission on Judicial Conduct.
More recently, Joel Cano, a former New Mexico judge, resigned after federal agents arrested “an illegal alien from Venezuela and a suspected member of a criminal gang” living in a home tied to his family. As part of a legal agreement, Cano is permanently banned from holding any judicial position or even officiating weddings in the state.
EOIR Acting Director Sirce E. Owen said the shake-up is about “restoring accountability so that the Executive Branch officials answer to the President and to the people.”
As more judges face scrutiny for intervening in deportation efforts, the White House appears determined to send a clear message: obstruction won’t be tolerated—whether it comes from the streets or the bench.
