FBI Arrests Judge Alleging She Obstructed Deportation Operation

FBI Director Kash Patel said bureau agents arrested a county judge in Wisconsin Friday, alleging she obstructed an April 18 immigration enforcement operation.

Patel claimed in a post on X that Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan “intentionally misdirected” federal agents away from a Mexican immigrant who was appearing in state court at the time.

The FBI’s arrest of Dugan comes amid President Donald Trump’s escalating battle with federal courts. In recent weeks, Trump officials have repeatedly called for the impeachment of judges who ruled against the government, deliberately misconstrued a Supreme Court ruling and appeared to have disregarded multiple court orders. Some judges are said to worry that Trump could tell the U.S. marshals to stop protecting them.

On Fox News Friday, Attorney General Pam Bondi called some judges “deranged” and promised to arrest those who help people who are in the country illegally. 

“I think some of these judges think they are beyond and above the law, and they are not,” Bondi said. “We are sending a very strong message today.” 

Patel first announced Dugan’s arrest in a social media post that he then deleted. Patel reposted it after an affidavit against the judge was released.

In the affidavit, a FBI special agent claimed Dugan became “visibly angry” when she was told that several federal law enforcement officials were outside her courtroom seeking to arrest Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, who was set to appear before her for a pre-trial conference early on three misdemeanor counts of battery.

Dugan asked the officials if they had a warrant signed by a judge for Flores-Ruiz’s arrest. They said they had an administrative warrant, a document issued by a federal agency like Immigration and Customs Enforcement, authorizing the arrest of someone suspected of violating immigration laws, the affidavit alleges.

After looking at the administrative warrant, Dugan directed the officials to see the chief judge of the court. She then spoke with Flores-Ruiz’s defense counsel and directed them to a jury door that led to a “nonpublic” area of the courthouse, the affidavit claims.

The affidavit didn’t specify where exactly Flores-Ruiz went next. It says a federal agent spotted Flores-Ruiz in a public hallway in the courthouse. A chase then ensued and Flores-Ruiz was eventually arrested down the street from the courthouse.

Dugan’s arrest comes after the Trump administration has said it will investigate and prosecute state and local officials who do not cooperate with its mass deportation efforts. Federal agents in recent weeks have also arrested several immigrants who are appearing in state court. 

In Trump’s first term, the Department of Justice indicted a Massachusetts judge for allegedly letting a man who was subject to an immigration detainer to avoid capture by exiting through a side door of a courthouse.

Most of the charges against the Massachusetts judge were eventually dismissed in 2022 but she had to refer herself to a judicial ethics commission for potential discipline.