A federal jury Thursday convicted a Milwaukee judge who helped an illegal immigrant briefly evade capture by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
The jury’s verdict came after a four-day trial, in which Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan was convicted on the felony obstruction charge, but acquitted of a misdemeanor count of concealing an individual to prevent an arrest, according to CBS News. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents arrested Dugan in April on felony obstruction charges after she allegedly misdirected ICE agents seeking to arrest an illegal immigrant by escorting the illegal immigrant out through a back door.
ICE agents sought to apprehend the illegal immigrant, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, after a hearing on a battery charge in front of Judge Dugan in April, the Associated Press reported. Flores-Ruiz was captured by the ICE agents following a foot chase.
“Former Wisconsin state judge Hannah Dugan betrayed her oath and the people she served when she obstructed federal law enforcement during an immigration enforcement operation,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche posted on X. “Today, a federal jury of her peers found her guilty and sent a clear message: the American people respect law and order.”
“Nobody is above the law,” Blanche continued. “This Department will not tolerate obstruction, will enforce federal immigration law, and will hold criminals to account – even those who wear robes.”
Democrats rallied to protest the arrest of Dugan, with some claiming the judge’s arrest was an attack on “democratic values” and an “attack” on the judicial branch. During the first Trump administration, a similar incident occurred in Massachusetts in 2019, which led to charges that the Biden administration later dropped.
United States Attorney Brad Schimel of the Eastern District of Wisconsin told reporters during a post-verdict press conference that Dugan was not a “martyr.”
“This is a serious matter for which the United States government found it necessary to seek to hold the defendant accountable,” Schimel said during a Thursday press conference. “Experience and common sense, as well as the evidence presented in this case, demonstrate that the safest place to execute a search warrant, excuse me, an arrest warrant was in, was within, is within a public area of a courthouse, such as the Milwaukee County courthouse that has security screening to ensure that none who enter except law enforcement are armed.”
“That’s why the federal agents sought, as law enforcement does every day, to utilize that safer environment to accomplish this arrest,” Schimel continued. “But the defendant’s actions provided an opportunity for a wanted subject to flee outside that safe courthouse environment, which led to a dangerous foot chase.”
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