A Milwaukee jury has convicted the pro-migration judge who smuggled an illegal migrant out of her courtroom and away from waiting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.
Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan now faces up to five years in jail for obstructing an official proceeding when she escorted illegal migrant Eduardo Flores Ruiz out of her courtroom. Flores Ruiz had already been deported and so faced jail for sneaking back into the United States.
It took just six hours for the jury to agree on the verdict after Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Brown Watzka summed up the evidence by saying, “She was a frustrated and angry judge who was fed up, who decided to corruptly take matters into her own hands.”
A sign on the courtroom door of Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan in the Milwaukee County Courthouse redirects people to a different courtroom on April 25, 2025 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Judge Dugan was arrested by the FBI after arriving at work and charged in federal court for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant avoid arrest. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Dugan has had a long career working for pro-migration groups, including Catholic Charities.
One of Dugan’s attorneys, Jason Luczak, asked the jury to play politics, saying:
“You’re the check on government overreach. Use your power to do justice in this case. You have the power to correct this unjust prosecution. It’s your decision and justice is in your hands.
“I would just say the case is a long way from over,” defense attorney Steven Biskupic said after the verdict.
Many polls show that the public overwhelmingly supports the deportation of criminal illegal immigrants.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche celebrated the conviction, saying:
Former Wisconsin state judge Hannah Dugan betrayed her oath and the people she served when she obstructed federal law enforcement during an immigration enforcement operation.
Today, a federal jury of her peers found her guilty and sent a clear message: the American people respect law and order. Nobody is above the law. This Department will not tolerate obstruction, will enforce federal immigration law, and will hold criminals to account – even those who wear robes.
The Washington Post described the crime:
Flores Ruiz was appearing in Dugan’s court on misdemeanor battery charges, and Dugan confronted the agents when she learned of their presence. She sent them down the hall to the office of the county’s chief judge and, while most of the agents were away, postponed Flores Ruiz’s hearing and directed him and his attorney out a back door in her courtroom.
The back door took them to a short, private hallway that leads to the public hallway where the agents were waiting. Flores Ruiz and his attorney emerged from the private hallway into the public hallway about 12 feet from the main entrance to Dugan’s courtroom. An agent followed Flores Ruiz and, with his fellow agents, chased him on foot and arrested him outside the courthouse. Flores Ruiz was deported in November.
On the first day of the trial Monday, prosecutors played a recording of Dugan talking to her court reporter about using the back door to the courtroom and noting that the private hallway could be taken to a flight of stairs.
“When Dugan’s clerk asked whether she should show Flores Ruiz and his attorney the door, Dugan said: ‘I’ll do it. I’ll get the heat,’” the Post reported.
Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to reflect that it was a Milwaukee jury.
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