A Milwaukee County Circuit Judge was arrested by the FBI for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant to evade the arrest, federal authorities said.
Judge Hannah Dugan was accused of two criminal charges of “obstructing and preventing a procedure before an United States department or agency” and “hiding a person to avoid their discovery and arrest,” according to a criminal complaint without sealing on Friday.
The director of the FBI, Kash Patel, announced the earliest arrest on Friday in a publication on social networks, which was briefly eliminated and replaced.
“Just now, the FBI arrested Judge Hannah Dugan of Milwaukee, Wisconsin for charges of obstruction, after the evidence that Judge Dugan obstructs an arrest operation for immigration last week,” Patel said in the new position. “We believe that Judge Dugan intentionally directed federal agents outside the subject to be arrested in his court, Eduardo Flores Ruiz, allowing the subject, an illegal foreigner, evading the arrest.”
According to the complaint, they died on April 18 to escort Flores Ruiz and his lawyer outside the courtroom through a jury door after the federal officers of an ICE working group told him that they had an administrative order for the arrest of the immigrant.
Dugan was arrested Friday morning at the Palace of Justice, confirmed an official of the law to ABC News. The Department of Justice refused to comment more about Patel’s post in X.
Dugan appeared in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin on Friday for both positions. It was released by its own recognition.
His lawyer Craig Mastantuono said in the Court: “Judge Dugan the arrest with all my heart and believes that it was not done in the interest of public security.”
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge, Hannah Dugan, shown during a candidate forum in 2016.
Mike de Sisti/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/Imagn
Flores Ruiz was arrested shortly after fleeing the Palace of Justice.
“Fortunately, our agents persecuted the perjrally on foot and he has been in custody since then, but the judge’s obstruction created a greater danger to the public,” Patel said.
Flores Ruiz complaint indicates that an immigration and customs control task force planned to arrest it on April 18 at the Milwaukee County Palace.
“They observed that Flores-Ruiz arrived and entered the courtroom with his lawyer. At some point, Flores-Ruiz apparently learned that Ice Ero was intended to arrest him and fled the building,” says the complaint. “The members of the task force located Flores-Ruiz outside the court and approached him. Flores-Ruiz extended from the members of the task force and finally was arrested at a short distance.”
The account is aligned with the judicial records of the County that show that Flores Ruiz would appear in the Court on April 18 before Dugan for a conference prior to the trial in a case in which he was accused of three minor crimes of abuse of battery/domestic abuse connected to an incident on March 12.
If it is declared guilty for the charges, Dugan could face up to six years in prison.
This is a development story. Consult the updates again.
