In a move that’s sending shockwaves through the legal system, federal agents arrested a sitting Wisconsin judge, accusing her of trying to help an undocumented immigrant avoid being detained by ICE — right inside her courtroom.
Judge Hannah Dugan, who serves on the Milwaukee County Circuit Court, was taken into custody around 8 a.m., according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The arrest came after federal officials claimed she interfered with an immigration arrest by quietly helping a man leave the courtroom through a side door, avoiding the agents waiting to detain him.
FBI Director Kash Patel, a close Trump ally, confirmed the arrest in a now-deleted post on social media.
“Just NOW, 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,” Patel wrote. “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.”
The man in question, Eduardo Flores Ruiz, is a Mexican national who was appearing in court on misdemeanor charges. After reportedly being guided out of a side exit by Judge Dugan and his attorney, he was later caught and taken into custody.
The FBI and U.S. Marshals have not commented publicly on the arrest or Patel’s deleted post.
But what’s most striking is where and how this is happening. Under the Biden administration, ICE was instructed to avoid making arrests in sensitive places — schools, hospitals, churches, and courtrooms — to avoid putting people in danger or causing unnecessary fear. The Trump administration scrapped that rule. The result: federal immigration arrests are now happening inside places once considered off-limits.
And Dugan isn’t the only judge caught up. on Thursday, former New Mexico judge Joel Cano and his wife were arrested by ICE after allegedly harboring an undocumented migrant who authorities say has ties to a Venezuelan gang. They now face evidence tampering charges.
The fact that judges — not smugglers or traffickers, but judges — are being targeted for how they respond to immigration enforcement raises serious questions. Legal experts and immigrant rights groups are warning that this crackdown is reaching a dangerous new level, where even the courtroom isn’t safe.
