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DOJ criminally charged sitting Milwaukee judge Hannah Dugan with obstructing ICE arrest in her courtroom

The Justice Department on April 25, 2025 filed federal criminal charges against sitting Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan, accusing her of obstructing ICE agents who sought to arrest a defendant, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, following his hearing in her courtroom. Dugan was later convicted by a federal jury and, on July 8, 2026, sentenced to a $5,000 fine with no prison time.

Part of: Trump Administration Attacks on Judicial Independence

Jurisdiction
Federal
Location
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Abuses documented

Actors

On April 25, 2025, the Justice Department announced federal criminal charges against sitting Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan, accusing her of obstructing a federal law enforcement operation and unlawfully concealing a person subject to arrest. According to DOJ's charging announcement, ICE, FBI, DEA, and CBP agents arrived at the Milwaukee County Courthouse on April 18, 2025 to arrest Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a previously deported Mexican national facing a pending domestic-battery case, following his hearing before Dugan. When agents appeared outside her courtroom, Dugan confronted them, told them their administrative warrant was insufficient, and directed them to the chief judge's office; she then escorted Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a restricted, non-public "jury door" rather than proceed with his scheduled hearing. Flores-Ruiz was arrested outside the courthouse after a brief foot pursuit. Attorney General Pam Bondi said "no one, least of all a judge, should obstruct law enforcement operations." Dugan was charged with obstruction of proceedings and concealing a person from arrest, offenses carrying maximum penalties of five years and one year in prison respectively; DOJ framed the case publicly as one of "judicial misconduct."

Updates

2025-12-18 — Federal jury convicted Dugan of felony obstruction [3]

A federal jury convicted Dugan of felony obstruction of proceedings following trial in Milwaukee.

2026-06-16 — Judge denied Dugan's post-trial motions, upheld conviction [4]

U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman denied Dugan's post-trial motions seeking to overturn the conviction.

2026-07-08 — Dugan sentenced to $5,000 fine, no prison time [5]

U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman sentenced Dugan to a $5,000 fine and no prison time or probation, well below the 15-21 months prosecutors had sought.

Why we recorded this

Separation of powers protects judges from executive retaliation for actions taken in their judicial capacity. Here, the Justice Department brought federal criminal charges against a sitting state judge for conduct inside her own courtroom during a proceeding, turning prosecutorial power against the judiciary itself. Treating a judge's in-court rulings and courtroom management as a federal crime chills judicial independence by making adverse in-court decisions personally prosecutable.

Sources

  1. Justice Department Announces Two Cases Involving Judicial Misconduct and Obstruction of Law Enforcement — U.S. Department of Justice primary accessed July 8, 2026
  2. Hannah Dugan: Wisconsin judge arrested and charged in federal court for allegedly obstructing ICE — CNN secondary accessed July 8, 2026
  3. A federal jury returns guilty verdict for Judge Hannah Dugan — NPR investigative accessed July 8, 2026
  4. Judge upholds the conviction of former Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan for helping immigrant evade ICE — PBS News investigative accessed July 8, 2026
  5. Former Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan avoids prison time, gets $5,000 fine — FOX6 Milwaukee secondary accessed July 8, 2026

See also