#Hannah Dugan# FBI# US Judge# US Judge Arrest# Immigrant
IBNS-CMEDIA: The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Friday arrested Milwaukee County Circuit Judge and charged her in a federal court for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant avoid arrest.
According to reports, Judge Hannah Dugan is facing two charges for obstruction and concealing the individual from arrest.
‘Serious Allegations’
“The allegations against Judge Dugan and Judge Cano are serious: no one, least of all a judge, should obstruct law enforcement operations,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Doing so imperils the safety of our law enforcement officers and undermines the rule of law. The Department of Justice will continue to follow the facts — no one is above the law.”
The Justice Department recently announced the filing of a federal criminal complaint against Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah C. Dugan, 65, for her alleged interference with a federal law enforcement operation and unlawful concealment of an individual subject to arrest.
According to court documents, the charges stem from events occurring on April 18, when members of the Milwaukee office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), along with federal partners from the FBI, DEA, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, attempted to execute a lawful arrest warrant for Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a Mexican national previously removed from the United States and recently charged in Milwaukee County with multiple counts of domestic abuse-related battery.
“According to court documents, federal agents arrived at the Milwaukee County Courthouse intending to arrest Flores-Ruiz in a public hallway following his court appearance before Judge Dugan,” US Department of Justice said in a statement.
Upon learning of the agents’ presence in the hallway, Judge Dugan allegedly confronted and ordered federal agents to leave the courthouse.
After being made aware of a valid immigration arrest warrant, Judge Dugan told agents that they needed a judicial warrant and demanded that they go to the Chief Judge’s office.
Flores-Ruiz
Once the agents were no longer in the vicinity of her courtroom, Judge Dugan allegedly elected not to conduct a hearing on Flores-Ruiz’s criminal case, despite the fact that victims of his offense were present, and instead personally escorted Flores-Ruiz and his attorney through a restricted “jury door” exit not typically used by defendants or attorneys, the Department of Justice said.
This doorway led to a non-public hallway through which Flores-Ruiz and his attorney exited her courtroom.
According to the affidavit, Judge Dugan’s actions directly resulted in Flores-Ruiz temporarily avoiding federal custody.
He was ultimately arrested outside the courthouse, following a brief foot pursuit.
Dugan is charged with obstruction of proceedings before a department or agency of the United States, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and concealing a person to prevent arrest, which carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison.
Flores-Ruiz was previously deported in 2013 and had reentered the United States unlawfully.
He was subject to arrest based on an administrative warrant issued by ICE for immigration violations following his recent criminal charges in Milwaukee County.
