DOJ: Milwaukee Judge Who Helped Illegal Alien Evade Arrest Is Not Above the Law

The Biden Justice Department—often criticized for political prosecutions—has taken a surprising stand in favor of immigration enforcement, warning a Wisconsin judge that she is not exempt from criminal prosecution for allegedly obstructing a lawful ICE arrest.

Federal prosecutors filed a motion rejecting Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan’s claim of judicial immunity after she was indicted for helping an illegal alien, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, evade arrest by federal agents inside the courthouse.

Judge Dugan was arrested by the FBI on April 25. Prosecutors say she knowingly interfered with federal immigration officers attempting to apprehend Flores-Ruiz, who was appearing in her courtroom that day on battery charges.

“Her state judicial post is not a license to engage in conduct that violates federal criminal law,” wrote Richard Frohling, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

According to the filing, Dugan paused her own court proceedings, left her bench, and interrupted a colleague’s courtroom session to recruit help in shielding Flores-Ruiz from ICE agents. Prosecutors allege she then directed the agents to the chief judge’s office—knowing full well that the chief judge was absent—and returned to her courtroom to facilitate the alien’s escape.

“Dugan chose to pause an unrelated case, leave her courtroom, disrupt proceedings in a colleague’s courtroom to commandeer her assistance, and then confront agents in the public hallway,” the government’s filing states.

From there, Dugan allegedly instructed the illegal immigrant’s lawyer to “take your client out and come back and get a date,” before guiding both of them through a restricted jury corridor. “She did this all just days after thanking a colleague for providing information which explained that ICE could lawfully make arrests in the courthouse hallway,” prosecutors added.

It’s the first time federal officials have stated that Dugan gave verbal directions for Flores-Ruiz to “go down the stairs,” and the first time they have mentioned her using a stairwell that led to an exit.

However, surveillance footage obtained by ABC News through public records contradicts parts of the encounter. It reportedly shows the pair using an elevator and exiting through a different door—not the stairwell as alleged. Still, officials were able to apprehend Flores-Ruiz outside the courthouse following a brief pursuit.

“Put simply, nothing in the indictment or the anticipated evidence at trial supports Dugan’s assertion that agents ‘disrupted’ the court’s docket; instead, all events arose from Dugan’s unilateral, non-judicial, and unofficial actions in obstructing a federal immigration matter over which she, as a Wisconsin state judge, had no authority,” the filing continues.

The DOJ argues that even if judicial immunity applied here—a position they clearly reject—it still would “not help Dugan” because her conduct went far beyond her official role and was not “judicial” in nature. The actions, they insist, were an attempt to block federal enforcement of immigration law in a public space.

Judge Dugan has pleaded not guilty. Her trial is set for July 21.

In response to the charges, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued an administrative order relieving her of judicial duties. The order declares that Dugan “is temporarily prohibited from exercising the powers of a circuit court judge in the State of Wisconsin.”

This explosive case highlights the growing tensions between sanctuary-style judicial activism at the local level and the enforcement of federal immigration laws—a conflict that conservatives say must be resolved to restore the rule of law.

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