April 24, 2025
By MEAD GRUVER Associated Press – Associated Press reporters Scott Bauer in Milwaukee and Corey Williams in Detroit contributed to this report.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The FBI on Friday arrested a Wisconsin county judge accused of helping a man avoid immigration enforcement, Director Kash Patel said.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced the move via social media, saying Dugan “increased danger to the public” by letting Eduardo Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer leave her courtroom through a jury door on April 18 to help avert his arrest, according to an FBI affidavit.
Flores-Ruiz, a native of Mexico, had been in court on a battery charge.
The Justice Department didn’t immediately have a comment Friday. A person answering the phone Friday at Dugan’s office said he could not comment. The Associated Press left an email and voicemail Friday morning seeking comment from Milwaukee County Courts Chief Judge Carl Ashley.
The arrest marks an escalation in the Trump administration’s fight with the judiciary over the White House’s sweeping immigration enforcement policies. The Justice Department had previously signaled that it was going to crack down on local officials thwarting federal immigration efforts.
The department in January ordered federal prosecutors to investigate state or local officials who they believe are interfering with the administration’s immigration crackdown.
Judge Dugan has since appeared in federal court and has been released.
Who is Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan?
Dugan has been a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge since her election in 2016. She previously was a litigation attorney and served administrative jobs at Legal Action of Wisconsin, Inc., and Legal Aid Society, Inc.
She also has taught law and graduate students at Marquette University.
Dugan was the president of the Milwaukee Bar Association from 1999-2000 and at one point worked at Catholic Charities of Southeastern Wisconsin, Inc.
She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1981 with a bachelor of arts degree and earned her Juris Doctorate in 1987 from the school.What is she accused of?
The FBI took Dugan into custody Friday on the courthouse grounds — the same building federal immigration agents entered last week in search of Flores-Ruiz.
Flores-Ruiz had been removed from the U.S. through Arizona over a decade ago and there is no evidence he got permission to return, according to the affidavit.
A fingerprint match prompted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to go to the Milwaukee courthouse and wait outside Dugan’s courtroom during his appearance.
After learning the agents were there, Dugan became “visibly angry,” according to the affidavit. She and another judge approached the members of the arrest team in a courthouse hallway and sent them to the chief judge’s office. Dugan then returned to her courtroom and ushered Flores-Ruiz and his attorney into the jury door, according to the affidavit.
Defendants not in custody and their attorneys never use the jury door, the affidavit claims, only deputies, jurors, court staff and defendants who are in custody.
That allegedly helped Flores-Ruiz get out of the building using an elevator. Agents nonetheless spotted him and, after a foot chase, arrested him outside.What does the judge say about the allegations?
Nothing yet.
“The judicial code of conduct restricts judges from commenting on pending or impending matters in any court. Judge Dugan’s court calendar will be covered by another judge as needed,” District One Chief Judge Carl Ashley said in a statement.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, a Democrat, said the arrest “was clearly more about hype than it was keeping our community safe.”
“I really do wish that the Trump administration would focus less on settling scores with perceived potential enemies and focus their attention more on things that really matter,” Johnson said.
Tom Barrett, a former U.S. congressman and mayor of Milwaukee for 17 years, said he was friends with Dugan’s older sister in high school and has known Dugan since she was 12. He has not spoken with her about the arrest.
Barrett said Dugan is “very professional, cares deeply about the community” and “is committed to justice and fairness.”
“As a person and a judge, she always tries to do the right thing and she cares deeply about the community and people and justice,” Barrett said. What happens next?
Dugan has a court case, not as a prosecutor or judge but as a defendant. She is due back in court on May 15.
Outside the courthouse Friday, dozens of people gathered to protest.
“Judge Dugan will be free. No justice, no peace,” some chanted.
The judge’s arrest could discourage people from reporting crimes — even reporting a fire, for example — for fear of arrest, they said.
“These actions are transparently meant to be chilling, cruel and undermining the rule of law,” said Melinda Brennan, executive director of the ACLU of Wisconsin.
Brian Schimming, chair of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said in a social media message that Dugan’s arrests shows “nobody’s above the law, even judges.”
“She knowingly was violating the law, if the Democrats want to defend that, they’re not hearing the public,” he said.
Governor Evers issues statement about the arrest
Governor Tony Evers issued a statement regarding Judge Dugan’s arrest just after 1:30 this afternoon stating:
“In this country, people who are suspected of criminal wrongdoing are innocent until their guilt is proven beyond reasonable doubt and they are found guilty by a jury of their peers—this is the fundamental demand of justice in America.
“Unfortunately, we have seen in recent months the president and the Trump Administration repeatedly use dangerous rhetoric to attack and attempt to undermine our judiciary at every level, including flat-out disobeying the highest court in the land and threatening to impeach and remove judges who do not rule in their favor.
“I have deep respect for the rule of law, our nation’s judiciary, the importance of judges making decisions impartially without fear or favor, and the efforts of law enforcement to hold people accountable if they commit a crime. I will continue to put my faith in our justice system as this situation plays out in the court of law.”
Senator Tammy Baldwin statement warns Trump administration about separation of powers
“In the United States, we have a system of checks and balances and separations of power for damn good reasons. The President’s administration arresting a sitting judge is a gravely serious and drastic move, and it threatens to breach those very separations of power. Make no mistake, we do not have kings in this country and we are a Democracy governed by laws that everyone must abide by. By relentlessly attacking the judicial system, flouting court orders, and arresting a sitting judge, this President is putting those basic Democratic values that Wisconsinites hold dear on the line. While details of this exact case remain minimal, this action fits into the deeply concerning pattern of this President’s lawless behavior and undermining courts and Congress’s checks on his power.”
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