Justice Subverted: Grand Jury Indicts Wisconsin Judge for Aiding Illegal Immigrant Fugitive
In a stunning blow to the judicial system’s credibility, a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge has been indicted by a grand jury for allegedly helping an illegal immigrant avoid federal arrest—highlighting the escalating consequences for local officials who obstruct the rule of law under President Donald Trump’s second term.
Judge Hannah Dugan, a liberal darling of the activist left, was indicted Tuesday on charges of obstruction of proceedings and concealing a person from arrest after allegedly assisting Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a twice-deported illegal alien, in fleeing federal custody. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has already suspended Dugan from her duties pending trial. She is set to appear in court Thursday.
While legacy media outlets like The New York Times frame this as “an assault on the judiciary,” what’s truly at stake is whether elected officials and judges can flout federal immigration law based on their personal politics—and walk away unpunished.
The facts paint a damning picture.
According to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Flores-Ruiz was in Dugan’s courtroom for a pretrial conference in April, facing three counts of misdemeanor battery with domestic violence modifiers. Bondi noted that the Mexican national had allegedly beaten both a man and a woman so severely that they required hospitalization.
What’s more, a Department of Homeland Security release confirmed Flores-Ruiz had already illegally entered the U.S. twice—making him a felon under federal immigration law.
“This criminal illegal alien has a laundry list of violent criminal charges including strangulation and suffocation, battery, and domestic abuse,” the DHS stated.
Yet when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrived to take him into custody, Judge Dugan reportedly launched into a tirade, confronting officers directly and attempting to block the lawful arrest.
“The judge screams at the immigration officers. She’s furious. Visibly shaken. Upset. Sends them off to talk to the chief judge,” Bondi said in a media interview.
What followed defied belief.
“She comes back in the courtroom — you’re not going to believe this — takes the defendant and the defense attorney back in her chambers. Takes them out a private exit and tells them to leave, while a state prosecutor and victims of domestic violence are sitting in the courtroom.”
According to an FBI complaint, Dugan escorted Flores-Ruiz and his attorney through the jury door, leading to a restricted area of the courthouse in an alleged effort to evade ICE. Flores-Ruiz attempted to flee on foot but was eventually captured by federal agents outside the building.
“Despite having been advised of the administrative warrant for the arrest of Flores-Ruiz, Judge Dugan then escorted Flores-Ruiz and his counsel out of the courtroom through the ‘jury door,’ which leads to a nonpublic area of the courthouse,” the FBI stated.
The Department of Justice was reportedly stunned by the blatant disregard for law enforcement.
“We could not believe that a judge really did that,” Bondi said. “But after an investigation, we decided Dugan should be charged.”
A grand jury agreed. Yet predictably, media allies of the Democratic Party have rushed to defend Dugan, portraying her as a victim of President Trump’s efforts to restore the rule of law.
As The New York Times breathlessly noted, “the arrest of the judge marked an escalation of the Trump administration’s warnings that local officials must not impede federal efforts to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.”
To that, Attorney General Bondi had a sharp reply:
“It doesn’t matter what line of work you are in, if you break the law, we will follow the facts and we will prosecute you.”
Despite her conduct, Dugan continues to frame herself as a principled protector of civil rights.
“Judge Hannah C. Dugan has committed herself to the rule of law and the principles of due process for her entire career as a lawyer and a judge,” her lawyers claimed after the arrest.
“Judge Dugan asserts her innocence and looks forward to being vindicated in court.”
But if the facts stand as reported, Dugan faces a potential six-year prison sentence for deliberately undermining a lawful federal arrest and aiding a violent repeat offender. If convicted, her actions would represent one of the most egregious examples yet of the activist bench being used to obstruct immigration law enforcement.
The message from the Trump administration is clear: no one—not even a judge—is above the law.