Federal authorities arrested Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan on Friday, accusing her of obstructing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by helping an undocumented immigrant evade arrest.
The high-profile arrest at the Milwaukee County Courthouse has ignited a firestorm of debate over judicial conduct and immigration enforcement.
The U.S. Justice Department charged Dugan, 65, with obstruction of an official proceeding and concealing an individual to prevent arrest. The charges stem from an April 18, 2025, incident in which Dugan allegedly escorted Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a 30-year-old Mexican national, through a restricted jury door to avoid ICE agents waiting to detain him after a court hearing.
Flores-Ruiz, who faced misdemeanor battery charges, had been deported in 2013 but returned illegally, prompting ICE’s interest.
“Judge Dugan intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject to be arrested in her courthouse, Eduardo Flores Ruiz, allowing the subject — an illegal alien — to evade arrest,” said FBI Director Kash Patel in a social media post, which was later deleted. “Thankfully, our agents chased down the perp on foot and he’s been in custody since, but the Judge’s obstruction created increased danger to the public.”
According to a criminal complaint, ICE agents arrived at Dugan’s courtroom on April 18 to arrest Flores-Ruiz, identified through a fingerprint match from his domestic abuse case. Informed of their presence, Dugan “became visibly angry, commented that the situation was ‘absurd,’ left the bench, and entered chambers,” court documents state.
She confronted the agents in a public hallway, demanding they leave and insisting they needed a different warrant. Then, she directed them to Chief Judge Carl Ashley’s office. According to the FBI affidavit, she then allegedly ushered Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer through the jury door into a non-public part of the courthouse.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said that Dugan’s actions “put the lives of our law enforcement officers at risk. She put the lives of citizens at risk. A street chase — it’s absurd that that had to happen.”
Dugan was arrested by the FBI on the grounds of the Milwaukee County courthouse early Friday morning and was later released from custody after making a brief appearance in federal court later the same day.
“Judge Dugan wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest. It was not made in the interest of public safety,” her attorney, Craig Mastantuano, said at the hearing, the Associated Press reported.