Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan Indicted by Federal Grand Jury Over ICE Case

A federal grand jury indicted Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan on Tuesday after she was accused of trying to help an undocumented immigrant evade arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Dugan is charged with concealing a person from arrest and obstruction of proceedings. She could face up to six years in prison and a maximum fine of $350,000 if convicted.

In a statement to Newsweek following the indictment, Dugan’s lawyer, Craig Mastantuono, said that his client “asserts her innocence and looks forward to being vindicated in court” following her “unnecessary arrest.”

Newsweek also reached out to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for comment via email.

Why It Matters

Dugan’s arrest and indictment come as the White House is entangled in an escalating battle with the judiciary over President Donald Trump’s efforts to ramp up deportations, including deporting those who have not been convicted of crimes.

The administration has been accused of defying judicial orders, including from the Supreme Court, while the president and his allies have called for the impeachment and removal of judges who issue rulings counter to his agenda.

What To Know

Dugan, 66, was arrested late last month, accused of helping undocumented migrant Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a Mexican national in court on battery charges, avoid ICE agents.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has also suspended Dugan following her arrest, saying it was doing so to preserve public confidence in the court system.

On Tuesday, the court heard from a series of witnesses, including Milwaukee County Judge Kristela Cervera, whose courtroom is next to Dugan’s, as well as Dugan’s court clerk Alan Freed Jr. and Mercedes de la Rosa, attorney for Flores-Ruiz.

According to the 13-page federal complaint, Dugan helped Flores-Ruiz, who appeared in her courtroom for a pretrial conference last month, after she learned ICE agents were at the courthouse seeking his arrest.

An FBI affidavit described Dugan as “visibly angry” at the arrival of ICE agents in her courtroom.

She is accused of then escorting Flores-Ruiz out of the courtroom through a side jury door to avoid federal agents outside. He was later taken into custody. Flores-Ruiz is in the U.S. illegally after reentering the country following his 2013 deportation, according to court documents.

Judges are rarely arrested or impeached, but U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has suggested that the DOJ was willing to prosecute more.

What People Are Saying

Mastantuono said in court shortly after Dugan’s arrest: “Judge Dugan wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest. It was not made in the interest of public safety.”

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, on X: “There are no kings in America. Trump and Bondi can’t just decide to arrest sitting judges at will and threaten judges into submission. This is a dangerous escalation, an attack on the separation of powers, and we will fight this with everything we have.”

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts stressed the importance of judicial independence, saying at an event last week: “The judiciary is a coequal branch of government, separate from the others with the authority to interpret the Constitution as law, and strike down, obviously, acts of Congress or acts of the president.”

Republican Wisconsin Representative Scott Fitzgerald said on X: “Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan allegedly helped an illegal alien evade arrest by ICE. This is an egregious abuse of power by someone sworn to uphold the law. No one—especially a judge—should interfere with federal immigration enforcement.”

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, in a statement: “I wish the Trump administration would focus less on settling scores with their perceived political enemies and focus their attention on fixing the economy that they’ve broken or remedying the mistakes they have made as they slashed through important federal programs.”

Bondi said on X last month, “I can confirm that our@FBI agents just arrested Hannah Dugan – a county judge in Milwaukee – for allegedly helping an illegal alien avoid an arrest by@ICEgov. No one is above the law.”