Category: Hannah dugan
‘I’ll get the heat’: Milwaukee judge is now a convicted felon after violent illegal alien dodged ICE from her courtroom
Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan tried her best to avoid consequence for her role in Eduardo Flores-Ruiz — an illegal alien from Mexico who later pled no contest to one count of battery and guilty to re-entering the U.S. — briefly evading U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Her best was evidently not good enough.
Dugan, relieved of her duties as a judge in April by the Supreme Court of Wisconsin, was found guilty on Thursday of obstructing federal agents — a felony. The jury did not, however, find Dugan guilty of the lesser misdemeanor charge of concealing a fugitive from justice.
‘Dugan’s actions to obstruct this violent criminal’s arrest take “activist judge” to a whole new meaning.’
“The defendant is certainly not evil nor is she a martyr for some greater cause,” Brad Schimel, the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, told reporters after Dugan learned her fate. “We must all accept the verdict peacefully.”
Schimel emphasized that “experience and common sense as well as the evidence presented in this case” demonstrate that the safest place to execute an arrest warrant is within a public area of a courthouse that has security screening — and that the 66-year-old judge’s actions endangered multiple people.
“The defendant’s actions provided an opportunity for a wanted subject to flee outside that safe courthouse environment, which led to a dangerous foot chase through automobile traffic and eventually to an agent taking the subject to the ground, which is always hazardous for both the officer and the suspect,” said Schimel. “There was certainly potential for many other dangers as well.”
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
ICE agents accompanied by both FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration agents traveled to the Milwaukee County Courthouse on April 18, 2025, to arrest Flores-Ruiz, aware that the previously deported Mexican national was scheduled to attend a pre-trial hearing overseen by Dugan.
Upon learning of ICE’s presence from an attorney, the now-felonious judge “became visibly angry, commented that the situation was ‘absurd,’ left the bench, and entered chambers” while Flores-Ruiz was seated in the gallery of the courtroom, according to the original FBI charging document.
The indictment claimed that Dugan proceeded to commit several affirmative acts to aid the illegal alien in evading arrest, including:
- confronting members of the ICE task force and falsely telling them they needed a judicial warrant to effectuate the arrest;
- directing the federal agents to go to the chief judge’s office after she learned they had the required administrative warrant for Flores-Ruiz’s arrest;
- dealing with Flores-Ruiz’s criminal case off the record while the ICE task force was in the chief judge’s office;
- directing the illegal alien and his counsel to flee the courtroom via a non-public jury door; and
- advising the Mexican’s counsel that he could appear remotely for his next court date.
The judge’s actions were observed by multiple witnesses and captured on film.
With Dugan’s help, the Mexican national ran out of the building. Federal agents were, however, able to catch up with him.
Flores-Ruiz was ultimately deported on Nov. 13.
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, noted at the time, “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.”
In the lead-up to the trial, Dugan’s lawyers tried desperately to get her case dismissed, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Trump v. United States and claiming that the radical judge was immune from criminal prosecution for judicial acts, that her prosecution violates the limits of federal power under the 10th Amendment, and that her indictment should be dismissed under the canon of constitutional avoidance.
Such efforts proved fruitless.
The jury saw and heard plenty of damning evidence during the trial that began on Monday.
They heard, for instance, an audio recording where Dugan told a court reporter that Flores-Ruiz could escape through a side door, reported the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Although Dugan’s court reporter volunteered to walk the illegal alien out, Dugan said she instead would do it: “I’ll get the heat.”
The jury also heard from numerous witnesses, including Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Kristela Cervera, who testified, “Judges should not be helping defendants evade arrest.”
Cervera was the individual who escorted the federal agents to Chief Judge Carl Ashley’s office.
For her felony conviction, Dugan could face up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.
The disgraced judge’s attorney, Steve Biskupic, indicated Dugan’s team will file a motion with the Clinton-appointed federal judge overseeing the case, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman, asking to set aside the conviction.
“The case is a long way from over,” said Biskupic.
While Dugan has been on administrative leave for several months, the New York Times indicated she has continued to collect her $174,000 salary.
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Trial for Milwaukee judge accused of helping illegal alien evade ICE set to begin
The trial for a sitting Wisconsin judge is set to begin after she allegedly helped an illegal alien avoid ICE arrest in April.
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan’s trial will begin Monday. Dugan is charged with obstruction of federal proceedings and concealing a person from arrest in connection with Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an illegal alien who later pled guilty to re-entering the U.S. and no contest to one count of battery.
According to court filings, Dugan became ‘visibly angry’ when she learned about ICE’s presence, Reuters reported.
According to the Associated Press, the trial will begin with opening statements from the defense and prosecution as well as testimony from the prosecution’s first witness. The prosecution’s case will likely span most of the week, with around two dozen witnesses ready to take the stand.
Dugan faces up to six years in prison if convicted of both charges.
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
Dugan is accused of assisting Flores-Ruiz in evading Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents upon learning that they were waiting outside her courtroom to arrest him.
According to court filings, Dugan became “visibly angry” when she learned about ICE’s presence, Reuters reported. She also falsely told law enforcement that they needed a judicial warrant to carry out an arrest, according to the prosecution.
Flores-Ruiz was allegedly shown a side door through which he fled the scene. He was apprehended by ICE agents outside the courthouse after a short foot race.
Dugan lost a bid to dismiss the charges against her in August. U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman rejected the argument that she was acting in her official capacity as a judge, ruling that “there is no firmly established judicial immunity barring criminal prosecution of judges for judicial acts.”
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Trial update: Wisconsin judge accused of helping illegal alien escape detention set to appear at final pretrial hearing
In April, a Wisconsin judge allegedly helped a violent illegal alien evade federal officers who were waiting outside her courtroom. With her case finally going to trial next month, the judge is set to appear at a final pretrial hearing Wednesday.
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan will appear in court for arguments about jury selection and other procedural questions, according to the Associated Press.
Jury selection will take place on December 11 and 12, days before the trial is set to begin.
The AP reported that prosecutors offered Dugan a plea deal, but it was declined. Her defense attorneys argued that Dugan is innocent and acted within her judicial authority.
RELATED: Wisconsin judge who allegedly helped illegal alien evade ICE just got some really bad news
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
Dugan allegedly showed Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 31, a Mexican national who was facing three counts of battery, a side door to flee from federal officers. Flores-Ruiz was apprehended after a foot race outside the courthouse.
Jury selection will take place on December 11 and 12. Her trial will begin on December 15. Dugan faces up to six years in prison if convicted on charges of obstruction and concealing a person of interest.
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