A federal jury has found Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah C. Dugan guilty of obstructing federal agents who were waiting outside her courtroom to arrest a migrant the Department of Homeland Security described as “a violent criminal illegal alien.”
On Thursday, jurors agreed with prosecutors that Dugan intentionally misdirected Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and helped Eduardo Flores-Ruiz avoid immediate arrest during an immigration enforcement action earlier this year.
However, Dugan was acquitted on April 18 of a related misdemeanor count of concealment in Milwaukee’s U.S. District Court.
Why It Matters
The verdict is an uncommon criminal conviction involving a sitting state judge and underscores the growing presence of federal immigration enforcement in local courthouses. It also comes as President Donald Trump’s administration continues an aggressive national immigration crackdown, including expanded courthouse enforcement and large-scale deportation efforts.
What To Know
Prosecutors told jurors that Dugan knowingly diverted agents from the corridor where they were positioned and then helped Flores-Ruiz and his attorney leave through a nonpublic “jury door,” giving him a brief window to evade arrest.
Flores-Ruiz was later detained outside the courthouse after a short foot chase and was subsequently deported.
During the trial, federal authorities presented evidence—including audio recordings—alleging that Dugan confronted agents, challenged the validity of their warrant, and redirected them before arranging Flores-Ruiz’s departure through the alternate exit.
Dugan’s defense argued that she was attempting to follow draft courthouse protocols for immigration arrests and did not act with corrupt intent.
The jury—seven men and five women, drawn from 12 Wisconsin counties—deliberated for about six hours, according to The New York Times.
Dugan, 66, has been on administrative leave since April and has continued receiving her reported $174,000 annual salary. The Wisconsin Supreme Court temporarily removed her from the bench while the case moved through the courts.
In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said Flores-Ruiz “entered the U.S. illegally in 2013,” was arrested by Border Patrol in Nogales, Arizona, and removed to Mexico, then later reentered the U.S. unlawfully. The department said his alleged violent offenses included strangulation and suffocation, battery, and domestic abuse, and added: “ICE removed this criminal on November 13, 2025.”
What People Are Saying
Defense attorney Jason Luczak said in court: “She never acted corruptly in doing her job as a judge in the middle of a stressful, new and confusing situation.”
U.S. Attorney Brad Schimel said: “While this case is serious for all involved, it is ultimately about a single day, a single bad day, in a public courthouse. The defendant is certainly not evil. Nor is she a martyr for some greater cause.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote in a post on X: “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.”
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement: “Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a previously removed illegal alien has a laundry list of violent criminal charges, including strangulation and suffocation, battery, and domestic abuse. Judge Hannah Dugan’s actions to obstruct this violent criminal’s arrest take ‘activist judge’ to a whole new meaning. Thanks to the brave men and women of ICE law enforcement, this criminal is OUT of our country. If you are here illegally and break the law, we will hunt you down, arrest you, and remove you from our country. That’s a promise.”
What Happens Next
The obstruction conviction carries a potential prison sentence of up to five years. A sentencing date has not yet been set. Under Wisconsin law, a felony conviction would also bar Dugan from holding judicial office, and she has remained suspended from her duties since her arrest in April.
