A Wisconsin judge who was suspended earlier this year was convicted Thursday of obstructing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during an attempted arrest at a Milwaukee courthouse.
A jury found Hannah Dugan guilty of felony obstruction after officials said that she tried to help an illegal immigrant from Mexico evade immigration authorities back in April. She was found not guilty of a misdemeanor charge of concealing a wanted person.
“We weren’t trying to make an example out of anyone. This was necessary to hold Judge Dugan accountable because of the actions she took,” said interim U.S. Attorney Brad Schimel. “There’s not a political aspect to it.”
“Some have sought to make this about a larger political battle. While this case is serious for all involved, it is ultimately about a single day – a single day – in a public courthouse,” he added.
Dugan’s legal team plans to seek to overturn her conviction. Following her arrest, the Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended her from the bench while the case proceeded. She could face more than five years in prison at sentencing.
Federal investigators identified the man Dugan helped evade ICE as Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, who was charged in Milwaukee with three counts of battery, domestic abuse, and infliction of physical pain or injury. He had previously been deported in 2013.
According to the FBI, six members of an ICE task force arrived at the courthouse on April 18 to arrest Flores-Ruiz and agreed to wait until after his domestic abuse court appearance. Investigators said Dugan had been informed of the agents’ presence, became “visibly angry,” and called the situation “absurd,” according to witness interviews.
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According to charging documents, Dugan directed the ICE arrest team to the chief judge’s chambers before returning to her courtroom and instructing Flores-Ruiz to exit through the “jury door” into a nonpublic area of the courthouse. ICE agents later tracked Flores-Ruiz outside the building and arrested him following a foot chase.
The Trump administration celebrated the verdict.
“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,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “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. This Department will not tolerate obstruction, will enforce federal immigration law, and will hold criminals to account – even those who wear robes.”
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