April 25, 2025
Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested on suspicion of "actively misdirecting federal officials away from" an immigrant being followed by police, according to the FBI director's social media statement.
On Friday, FBI agents detained a Milwaukee county judge on allegations of delaying immigration agents by directing an undocumented immigrant via a side door in her courthouse as the agents waited in a public hallway to apprehend him.
The arrest of a sitting state court judge marks a significant shift in the Trump administration's fight with local authorities over deportations. The government has asked that local officials join federal attempts to deport millions of unauthorized immigrants, or face inquiry or prosecution.
Charging documents describe a confrontation last Friday at Judge Hannah Dugan's courthouse, in which federal agents claim she was "visibly upset and had a confrontational, angry demeanor" when a group of immigration, D.E.A., and F.B.I. agents arrived to arrest Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a Mexican citizen who was in her courtroom to face misdemeanor criminal charges.
Hannah Dugan in 2016. Ms. Dugan, a county judge from Milwaukee, was detained on Friday.
"Despite being informed of the administrative warrant for Flores-Ruiz's arrest, Judge Dugan then took Flores-Ruiz and his counsel out of the courtroom through the 'jury door,' which goes to a nonpublic portion of the courthouse," according to the complaint, which was submitted by an FBI agent.
The judge was accused with hindering a federal agency procedure and sheltering an individual to avoid detection and arrest.
After appearing briefly as a defendant in federal court in Milwaukee, only a mile from her own courthouse, the judge was freed on her own recognizance.
Judge Dugan was arrested on suspicion of "willfully misdirecting federal officials," according to F.B.I. Director Kash Patel, who posted on social media on Friday before the charges were announced.
Christopher A. Wellborn, president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, expressed concern about the judge's detention, stating that "the independence of the judiciary is the foundation of American democracy."
"Retaliatory action by the executive branch that appears to undermine this foundation requires our unflinching vigilance and a strong response," he continued.
Carl Ashley, the chief judge in Milwaukee County, said in a statement that Judge Dugan's caseload would be handled by another jurist in the courthouse but declined to speak further.
The Trump administration has pledged to investigate and penalize municipal leaders who do not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement efforts, criticizing so-called "sanctuary cities" for not doing more to assist federal apprehensions and deportations of millions of undocumented immigrants.
The Milwaukee case is a recurring flashpoint in that debate: immigration authorities attempting to arrest immigrants who are appearing in state court. Local governments frequently oppose such measures, claiming that they jeopardize public safety by making persons dealing with small legal concerns feel frightened entering courthouses.
During the first Trump administration, the Justice Department indicted a local Massachusetts judge on accusations of impeding immigration officers. The allegations were withdrawn after the judge agreed to send herself for probable judicial censure.
That lawsuit also included allegations that a judge permitted a defendant wanted by I.C.E. agents to flee the building through a back entrance in order to avoid custody. The Massachusetts Judicial Conduct Commission has filed official disciplinary proceedings against Judge Shelley Joseph. She has denied wrongdoing.
Devlin Barrett covers the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for The Times.
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