The FBI arrested a Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Friday morning on charges of obstruction for helping an undocumented immigrant avoid arrest after he appeared in her courtroom last week.
Judge Hannah Dugan, 65, will appear before the U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Dries at 10:30 a.m. in the Federal Courthouse in downtown Milwaukee, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
On April 18, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents attempted to arrest Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a Mexican immigrant after he appeared in Dugan’s court on misdemeanor battery charges.
In a now deleted post, FBI Director Kash Patel announced the arrest.
“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,” Patel said.
The FBI national press office told The Daily Cardinal Friday morning they do not have immediate comment.
Officials have not yet identified the defendant whom she is accused of assisting, however he appears to be 30-year-old Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a Mexican immigrant facing three misdemeanor battery counts, the Journal Sentinel reported.
Flores-Ruiz is in ICE custody at Doge Detention Facility in Juneau.
“This Administration’s willingness to weaponize federal law enforcement is shocking and this arrest has all the hallmarks of overreach,” U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore said in a statement posted to X. “Federal law enforcement coming into a community and arresting a judge is a serious matter and would require high legal bar.”
This is a developing story.
Ava Menkes is the managing editor at The Daily Cardinal. She previously served as the state news editor. She has covered multiple stories about the upcoming election, healthcare and campus, and written in-depth about rural issues, legislative maps and youth voter turnout. She will be an incoming intern with Wisconsin Watch. Follow her on Twitter at @AvaMenkes.
