Milwaukee Circuit Judge Arrested by FBI for Obstructing an ICE Detention

On April 25 Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested by agents of the FBI over charges that on April 18 she allowed an undocumented Mexican national, Eduardo Flores Ruiz, appearing in her courtroom, to avoid agents from a federal immigration task force who were waiting to apprehend him. Realizing that the six agents from ICE, the DEA, and FBI were waiting outside her courtroom, the judge allowed Flores Ruiz to exit through a side jury door. Later, charging documents stated that the judge was “visibly upset and had a confrontational, angry demeanor” when she saw these federal agents waiting to arrest someone from her courtroom. According to a witness, the judge said that it was “absurd” that so many agents from so many federal agencies are mobilized to detain a single undocumented person.