The federal government announced two separate arrests Friday of a current judge and a former judge accused of assisting undocumented immigrants who authorities say are violent criminals, raising concerns among Democrats and others.
The FBI arrested Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan on Friday after alleging that she assisted an undocumented immigrant in evading arrest last week. Her arrest came just hours after federal authorities arrested former New Mexico Judge Joel Cano and his wife Nancy Cano for allegedly housing a Venezuelan national with gang ties, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Bondi spoke with ABC News Live’s Kyra Phillips on Friday afternoon about the cases, dismissing critics who accused the Trump administration of intimidating judges who oppose its crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
“Nobody is above the law, not even the judge,” Bondi told Philips.
Judge Dugan’s arrest was announced earlier Friday by FBI Director Kash Patel in a social media post that was briefly deleted and reposted.
“Just NOW, the FBI arrested Judge Hannah Dugan out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin on charges of obstruction — after evidence of Judge Dugan obstructing an immigration arrest operation last week,” Patel wrote in a recent blog post. “We believe 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.”
Dugan was charged with two counts of “obstructing and impeding a proceeding before a department or agency of the United States” and “concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest,” according to a criminal complaint unsealed Friday.
According to county court records, the undocumented immigrant in the Milwaukee case, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, was scheduled to appear in court before Dugan on April 18 for a pretrial conference in a case in which he is charged with three misdemeanor counts of battery/domestic abuse stemming from an incident on March 12. The case is ongoing.
According to a criminal complaint, Flores-Ruiz entered the United States illegally from Mexico and received an Expedited Removal order in January 2013.
Bondi claimed that Flores-Ruiz beat his roommate and a woman so badly that they had to be hospitalized, and that he remained belligerent in the hospital until his arrest.
According to the complaint, Dugan allegedly attempted to assist Flores-Ruiz in avoiding arrest by federal officers from an ICE task force.
When Judge Dugan learned that ICE officers were present in court to arrest Flores-Ruiz, she became “visibly angry” and stated that the situation was “absurd” before leaving the bench and entering her chambers, according to the complaint, which cited FBI witnesses.
The complaint alleges that Dugan and another unidentified judge approached the arrest team in the public hallway. She was “visibly upset and had a confrontational, angry demeanor” and asked one of the officers if they were present for a court appearance, according to the complaint.
According to the complaint, when the officer responded that they were there to make an arrest, Judge Dugan inquired whether they had a judicial warrant, to which the officer replied, “No, I have an administrative warrant.”
Multiple witnesses named in the complaint later claimed that Judge Dugan returned to her courtroom after directing members of the arrest team to the office of the court’s chief judge.
“The courtroom deputy then saw Judge DUGAN get up and heard Judge DUGAN say something like ‘Wait, come with me,'” according to the complaint.” “Despite having been advised of the administrative warrant for the arrest of Flores-Ruiz, Judge DUGAN then escorted Flores-Ruiz and his counsel out of the courtroom through the ‘jury door,’ which leads to a nonpublic area of the courthouse.”
“So she keeps going, keeps working on her docket, and eventually finishes it. Two victims sit in court all morning, waiting for the end. The prosecutors ask, “What happened?” “Why wasn’t the case called?” Bondi spoke.
According to the complaint, a DEA agent observed Flores-Ruiz and his attorney in the courthouse’s public hallway, where he appeared to be attempting to evade arrest. After being confronted by FBI and DEA agents outside the building, Flores-Ruiz “turned around and sprinted down the street” before being apprehended, according to the complaint.
A law enforcement official confirmed to ABC News that Dugan was arrested Friday morning at the courthouse.
She appeared in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin on Friday for the two charges, but did not enter a plea. She was released under her own recognizance.
Dugan hired former US Attorney Steven Biskupic to represent her, and he said in a statement that the judge will “defend herself vigorously and looks forward to being exonerated.”
“Judge Hannah C. Dugan has committed herself to the rule of law and the principles of due process for her entire career as a lawyer and a judge,” Biskupic told reporters in a statement.
If convicted of the charges, Dugan faces up to six years in prison.
Bondi responded to the statement by stating that everyone is entitled to a day in court, including victims of crimes.
“They didn’t get it because she allowed a criminal defendant to walk out the door. She helped them. “She obstructed justice,” Bondi informed Phillips.
Judge Dugan’s arrest infuriated Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, who accused federal agents of “showboating” and claimed Dugan was not a flight risk.
“They’re just trying to have this show of force and in the process of a courthouse where people need to go for court proceedings, they’re scaring away people from participating in the court process,” said the mayor to reporters.
In a statement issued Friday afternoon, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers criticized President Donald Trump and the White House for attempting “to attack and undermine our judiciary at every level.”
Evers stated that he will continue to have faith in the justice system “as this situation plays out in the court of law.” He didn’t mention Dugan by name.
In an interview Friday, Phillips asked AG Bondi if she thought the government’s actions were intimidating people in the court system, but she dodged the question.
“We’re attempting to protect citizens, make America safe again,” she was saying.
Bondi brought up the New Mexico case, where former Judge Joel Cano is accused of tampering with evidence.
Court documents state that on February 28, an alleged Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang member was apprehended at the Canos’ residence.
On April 24, agents served a search warrant at their home and interviewed Cano, who admitted to destroying the alleged gang member’s cell phone by smashing it with a hammer and throwing it in the trash, according to the complaint and Bondi.
“Cano stated that he destroyed the cellphone and further admitted that he believed the cellphone contained photos or videos that would reflect negatively on Ortega,” according to the complaint! “After further questioning, agents determined that… Cano destroyed the cellphone, believing it contained photographs of Ortega holding firearms that Ortega had posted on social media platforms, which would be additional incriminating evidence against him.”
According to court records, Cano and his wife have yet to enter pleas in their cases and do not have defense attorneys listed for them.
Bondi reiterated that the immigrants associated with the judges were allegedly violent.
Phillips pressed Bondi again about the arrests, asking if there was any concern that the federal government was simply targeting judges, but the AG insisted that the charges were serious.
“Those are the people who need to be arrested and removed from our country. It makes no difference who you are; no one, not even a judge, can shelter them,” she explained.
Phillips questioned how far the government was willing to go to apprehend undocumented immigrants, and whether this meant mayors and governors would be targeted.
Bondi appeared to avoid the question, repeating that the administration’s goal is to keep people safe.
“I would hope a mayor, I would hope a governor would never harbor anyone,” she went on.
AG Bondi attacks judges accused of assisting unauthorized immigrants dodge arrest
by Johnson
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