The FBI arrested a sitting U.S. judge Friday for “obstructing an immigration arrest operation,” a jarring escalation in Donald Trump’s nationwide assault on immigrants, the judicial system, and anybody who opposes his mass deportation efforts. Democrats are reeling.
Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested on charges of obstruction after she helped an undocumented immigrant evade arrest in her courtroom, FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X Friday morning. The 30-year-old man, originally from Mexico, Eduardo Flores Ruiz, is now in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. His arrest marks at least the third time in recent months that ICE agents have appeared at the courthouse with arrest warrants, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
“Federal law enforcement coming into a community and arresting a judge is a serious matter and would require high legal bar,” Wisconsin Representative Gwen Moore said, shortly after the arrest in her home state. “I will be following this case closely, and facts will come out, however, I am very alarmed at [these] increasingly lawless actions of the Trump Admin, and in particular ICE, who have been defying court orders and acting with disregard for the Constitution.”
“It is remarkable that the Administration would dare to start arresting state court judges,” said Representative Jamie Raskin. “It’s a whole new descent into government chaos.”
“The Trump administration again is breaking norms in how it’s dealing with immigration, the legal system, and normalcy.… This is stuff I expect from Third World countries,” Wisconsin Representative Mark Pocan told Axios.
Representative Darren Soto echoed Pocan’s disbelief that a judge was arrested in the United States. “Arresting federal judges is third world country dictator type of stuff. Everyday they get more desperate,” Soto wrote on X. “This will be bounced out of court as quick as the rest of their illegal actions.”
Senator Tammy Baldwin called Dugan’s arrest a “gravely serious and drastic move,” but in line with Trump’s attack on the rule of law.
The president has ignored a number of court orders relating to his unlawful deportations and will apparently punish anyone who gets in his way. At least eight immigration judges across three states have now been fired or put on leave.
“Make no mistake, we do not have kings in this country and we are a democracy governed by laws that everyone must abide by,” Baldwin said in a statement on X. “While details of this exact case remain minimal, this action fits into the deeply concerning pattern of this president’s lawless behavior and undermining courts and Congress’s checks on his power.”
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