Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan, who allegedly helped illegal migrant evade ICE, is ‘temporarily relieved’ of duties — days after FBI arrest
The Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended the judicial powers of the circuit court judge accused of hiding an illegal immigrant who was wanted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan was “temporarily” relieved of her duties Tuesday after she was arrested and charged by the FBI with obstruction last week.
“In the exercise of (the) constitutional authority and in order to uphold the public’s confidence in the courts of this state during the pendency of the criminal proceeding against Judge Dugan, we conclude, in our own motion, that it is in the public interest that she be temporarily relieved of her official duties,” the Badger State’s highest court ordered.
Dugan is prohibited from exercising her judicial powers until “a further order of the court.”
The 65-year-old jurist allegedly concealed Mexican national Eduardo Flores-Ruiz inside her courthouse after a pre-trial hearing on April 18.
She is charged with obstructing a federal agency and concealing an individual to prevent an arrest.
Dugan’s “ICE-capades” began after she learned two plainclothes Customs and Border Protection agents were outside with a warrant for Flores-Ruiz’s arrest.
The 30-year-old migrant was in court for three misdemeanor battery charges stemming from a fight in March.
He had already been deported from the US in 2013 and there was no record of him ever crossing back into the country legally, according to the criminal complaint.
Dugan, a veteran of the court for nearly a decade, was alerted to the federal agents’ presence and confronted them in a hallway, becoming “visibly upset” with an “angry demeanor,” according to the criminal complaint obtained by The Post.
She initially demanded they leave the courthouse, but changed her mind and directed them to Chief Judge Carl Ashley’s office after she was shown the arrest warrant.
The frustrated judge returned to the courtroom and escorted Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out of the room through the “jury door” to a non-public area of the courthouse, where the chief judge had advised the feds that they could not arrest Flores-Ruiz, the charging document alleged.
“These events were also unusual for two reasons,” the complaint states. “First, the courtroom deputy had previously heard Judge Dugan direct people not to sit in the jury box because it was exclusively for the jury’s use. Second, according to the courtroom deputy, only deputies, juries, court staff, and in-custody defendants being escorted by deputies used the back jury door. Defense attorneys and defendants who were not in custody never used the jury door.”
Dugan, who had been working at “pushing” Flores-Ruiz’s case through, quietly adjourned the hearing.
“This happened without [the prosecutor’s] knowledge or participation, even though [they were] present in court to handle Flores-Ruiz’s case on behalf of the state, and even though victims were present in the courtroom,” the complaint read.
Flores-Ruiz was eventually captured by the agents after he was seen fleeing on foot.
FBI Director Kash Patel accused Dugan of intentionally misdirecting the federal agents in order to help Flores-Ruiz evade arrest.
“Thankfully our agents chased down the perp on foot and he’s been in custody since, but the Judge’s obstruction created increased danger to the public,” Patel wrote on X.
Dugan appeared in court on April 26 but was resistant to the charges against her.
“Judge Dugan wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest. It was not made in the interest of public safety,” her attorney, Craig Mastantuono, said during the proceeding.
She was released from police custody and is scheduled to be arraigned on May 15.
Dugan faces up to 15 years in prison if found guilty of the charges.
With Post wires
