FBI arrests Wisconsin judge in immigration obstruction case

By David Voreacos, Alex Ebert (Bloomberg Law) and Zoe Tillman

A state judge in Wisconsin was charged Friday by the FBI with obstructing federal officials who tried to detain an undocumented immigrant, escalating the Trump administration’s conflict with the judiciary over its hardline immigration strategy.

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan was accused of obstructing a proceeding, and concealing an individual to prevent his arrest. US authorities said the case stemmed from an April 18 incident when agents showed up at her courtroom to detain an undocumented migrant from Mexico, who was appearing in his domestic battery case.

Dugan “put the lives of a lot of people in danger,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Fox News. “What’s happening to our judiciary is beyond me. They’re deranged. That’s all I can think of. Some of these judges think they are above and beyond the law which they are not. If you are harboring fugitives, anyone who is here illegally, we will come after you and we will find you.”

After her arrest, Dugan made an initial appearance Friday in Milwaukee federal court. US Magistrate Judge Stephen Dries released her on her own recognizance after prosecutors said they weren’t seeking her detention.

Dugan “wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest,” her lawyer said at the hearing. “It was not made in the interest of public safety,” the lawyer said.

The Dugan case came a day after US authorities also arrested a former New Mexico state judge, Joel Cano, and his wife Nancy over evidence tampering allegations. They were connected to a suspected Venezuelan gang member who faces criminal charges of being an unlawful alien in possession of a firearm, court records show.

According to an FBI affidavit, Dugan directed the agents seeking the migrant, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, to talk to the office of the chief judge. They were then advised that they could only make an arrest in a public area of the courthouse.

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Dugan approached Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer and said, “Wait, come with me,” before leading them to a private exit out of the courtroom. Flores-Ruiz then took an elevator downstairs, left the courthouse and sprinted away from agents who spotted him. He was arrested after a foot chase.

Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel said in a social media post that Dugan “intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject to be arrested in her courthouse.” Her actions allowed an “illegal alien” to evade arrest, Patel wrote in the post, which was later deleted and then reposted.

President Donald Trump has bristled at judges across the US as he implements plans for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. Two federal judges are considering whether to hold government officials in contempt of court, and state judges have clashed with the administration over whether to allow immigration arrests in their courthouses.

Dugan was arrested around 8 a.m. on the courthouse grounds, according to Brady McCarron, a spokesman for the US Marshals Service.

Flores-Ruiz, who was previously deported, was identified by immigration officials through fingerprint evidence, according to the arrest complaint. Bondi said he was accused of beating up two people and sending them to a hospital.

“Shame on her,” Bondi said. “It was a domestic violence case, of all cases.”

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat, said in a statement after the arrest that the Trump administration is continuing a pattern of “dangerous rhetoric to attack and attempt to undermine our judiciary at every level.”

Flores-Ruiz could be swiftly deported again under federal immigration law. A spokesperson for the Wisconsin state public defender’s office, which represents Flores-Ruiz, declined to comment.

The Canos were arrested Thursday and scheduled to appear in court Friday, according to court records. They were charged in connection with a case involving Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, an alleged member of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang.

Ortega-Lopez, an undocumented migrant from Venezuela, was arrested March 3 on a weapons charge, according to a separate court filing by US prosecutors in his case. Nancy Cano hired him last year to install a glass door, and he “continued to do a few odd jobs” for her in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Ortega-Lopez then lived in a small guest house in the rear of the Cano property until his arrest with other suspected gang members, the filing shows.

Prosecutors say that Joel Cano tried to protect Ortega-Lopez by destroying a cell phone that contained potential evidence of his affiliation with Tren de Aragua. During an interview with federal agents, Cano admitted “smashing it with a hammer” and discarding the remnants of the phone in a dumpster.

Authorities also said that Nancy Cano helped to delete Ortega-Lopez’s Facebook account.

Joel Cano resigned from the bench in March, and the state Supreme Court barred him Tuesday from serving as a judge, running for the office, or officiating at weddings.

The Dugan arrest has split politicians in Milwaukee, the industrial heart of America’s most divided swing state. Immigrants from Central and South American have bolstered the city’s population, which is about 20% Hispanic.

“We continue to stand with Judge Dugan against yet another authoritarian attempt to silence dissent, punish dissenters, and intimidate everyone else from ever joining them,” State Representative Ryan Clancy, a Democrat from Milwaukee County, said in a social media post. “Obstructing fascism is our duty, not a crime.”

For conservatives, Dugan’s alleged conduct was further evidence of a lawless response to Trump’s vow to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.

“By now, I’m sure she regrets her decision, but she can only blame herself for her alleged irresponsible actions that created this mess to begin with,” State Representative Bob Donovan, a Milwaukee County Republican, said in an email.

Dugan, who has served as a judge since 2016, was re-elected in a nonpartisian election in April 2022 to a six-year term. Her court clerk declined to comment when reached by Bloomberg News.

The case is United States v. Hannah C. Dugan, 25-mj-397, US District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin (Milwaukee).