Federal authorities arrest Wisconsin judge over immigration battle
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested Friday on charges connected to obstructing a proceeding and concealing an individual to prevent their arrest
'I can confirm that our @FBI agents just arrested Hannah Dugan – a county judge in Milwaukee – for allegedly helping an illegal alien avoid an arrest by @ICEgov,' Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote. 'No one is above the law.'
Dugan's arrest marks an aggressive move by the administration on immigration enforcement and a major escalation in its battles with the courts, which have issued decisions pushing back on some of the administration's actions.
FBI Director Kash Patel also referenced the arrest in a now-deleted social media post.
'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.
'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.'
Patel added Flores Ruiz was later 'chased down … on foot' and is also in custody.
Dugan has already been released and is set to have an arraignment hearing May 15.
The FBI in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment about why Patel deleted his post.
The FBI Field Office in Milwaukee also did not immediately respond to request for comment, nor did the U.S. Marshals.
The Hill has left a message with Milwaukee County Courts Chief Judge Carl Ashley.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported last week that Flores Ruiz, a Mexican national, was arrested after being due in Dugan's courtroom on three misdemeanor counts of battery stemming from a fight with roommates.
According to court documents, when Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials appeared at the courthouse April 18, they presented a warrant, but Dugan asked for more information and told them they would need to speak with the chief judge before carrying out an arrest.
'Judge Dugan became visibly angry, commented that the situation was 'absurd,' left the bench, and entered chambers. At the time, Flores-Ruiz was seated in the gallery of the courtroom,' according to an affidavit filed by the FBI.
Officers then left to speak with the chief judge, which is when Dugan is accused of telling Flores Ruiz and his attorneys to leave through a side door used for the jury.
'The courtroom deputy then saw Judge Dugan get up and heard Judge Dugan say something like 'Wait, come with me.' 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.'
The affidavit describes that as unusual, as 'defense attorneys and defendants who were not in custody never used the jury door.'
The Journal Sentinel said it was the third time in recent months that ICE officials have come to the courthouse with arrest warrants.
The FBI affidavit indicates Ashley, the chief judge, was crafting a policy to limit where immigration enforcement could be carried out at the courthouse.
'During their conversation, the Chief Judge stated he was working on a policy which would dictate locations within the courthouse where ICE could safely conduct enforcement actions. The Chief Judge emphasized that such actions should not take place in courtrooms or other private locations within the building. Deportation Officer A asked about whether enforcement actions could take place in the hallway,' the document states.
Flores Ruiz was ultimately spotted by officials in the hallway, leading to the foot chase. Court records indicate multiple law enforcement agencies were all on hand to help with the arrest, with officials from the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration agents present.
Under the Biden administration, ICE was prohibited from making arrests in certain sensitive areas such as schools and churches. The Trump administration rescinded that memo and replaced it with a new one in January, outlining specific criteria for conducting immigration enforcement at courthouses.
Updated at 1:03 p.m. EDT
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
7th District's Tom Tiffany teases potential run for Wisconsin governor
WASHINGTON – 7th District Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany has not yet said whether he plans to join the GOP primary for governor. But he's been happy to tease a run after pushing back his timeline for a potential announcement. Tiffany recently tweeted out a picture of himself holding a crappie after a conservative website demanded that "all future Wisconsin gubernatorial candidates prove they know how to hold a fish." And he's hinted at a potential statewide campaign in more concrete ways: The website domain name " leads directly to his current congressional campaign site. That site's homepage labels Tiffany a "proven conservative for Wisconsin." The hints are not unusual or new for the third-term congressman from Wisconsin's northwestern 7th Congressional District, whose office is located in Wausau. But they represent the latest moves for one of the only Republicans still publicly considering a 2026 gubernatorial run. Tiffany recently told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he'd make his decision "after July." Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann was the first Republican to enter the race in May, and Bill Berrien, a Navy SEAL veteran and manufacturing CEO from Whitefish Bay, launched his own campaign earlier this month. State Senate President Mary Felzkowski, former U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde and former U.S. Senate and governor candidate Tim Michels are also considering bids, though Tiffany is the only person in that group to publicly express interest in a gubernatorial campaign. More: Statewide 'Good Trouble' protests include several central Wisconsin events "I'm gonna make a decision after July here, and we'll see," Tiffany told the Journal Sentinel last week when asked about his thinking. He previously said he would make a decision after the April 1 state Supreme Court race before extending that timeline to the summer. "I'm steadily, methodically going through the process." Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is expected to decide whether to seek reelection in the coming weeks. Tiffany has claimed that Evers's decision won't factor into his consideration of a gubernatorial run and said his choice "is not predicated on" who is running on the Republican side, either. "It is, where can I do the most good for the people of the state of Wisconsin? Do I believe I'm the best candidate on our side to be able to win this race? That's the decision points for me," Tiffany said last week. He's repeatedly and publicly attacked Evers on both on social media and in his weekly constituent newsletter over immigration and Democrats' pushback on President Donald Trump's priorities. Still, Tiffany's moves are not new. He previously purchased website domain names as he considered a 2024 U.S. Senate bid against Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, though he never launched a campaign. Multiple local GOP leaders in the 7th District have said they are uncertain Tiffany will make a move for governor. Tiffany raised a little more than $147,000 in the first half of 2025 and had about $124,859 in cash on hand in his House campaign account, according to Federal Election Commission records. Schoemann raised a little over $424,000 since launching his campaign in May, and Berrien's political action committee raked in more than $1 million before Berrien formally entered the race this month. A spokeswoman for Tiffany this week called securing the gubernatorial website domain name "standard practice for campaigns and public officials" and said it would prevent the site "from being used for nefarious purposes." The domain name, she said, was purchased in April 2023 — the same day Tiffany bought the domain names for a potential Senate run. And the campaign threw cold water on any idea that the post featuring Tiffany holding the crappie was a subtle campaign announcement. "Congressman Tiffany has not made a decision regarding a future run," the spokeswoman said on July 21, "and any announcement will come at a later time." This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 7th District Rep. Tom Tiffany teases a run for Wisconsin governor


Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Afternoon Briefing: Woman ordered detained after allegedly drowning son
Good afternoon, Chicago. A Chicago woman drowned her infant son when she walked into Lake Michigan and let go of the 14-month-old boy, Cook County prosecutors alleged today. Finding that she is a danger to the public and apparently suffering from a mental health crisis, a Cook County judge ordered Surah Amon detained following a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building attended by family members who sobbed in the courtroom's gallery. Amon, 31, is charged with murder. Here's what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices. Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History The measure, signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker yesterday, clarifies what has long been a point of contention over how authorities should handle squatters — people who are living in a residence without the permission of the property's legal tenant or owner. Read more here. More top news stories: A 12,692-square-foot mansion on Sheridan Road in Winnetka sold today for its listing price of just below $9.5 million. Read more here. More top business stories: Pitcher Davis Martin is slated to return from the injured list (right forearm strain) and start tonight for the Sox, who have won a season-high four straight. Read more here. More top sports stories: Prison bars that were once used as instruments of confinement at the Cook County Jail will be repurposed as musical instruments as part of a performance tomorrow by Chicago-based artist Maria Gaspar. Read more here. More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories: The gloomy, demon-invoking lead singer of the pioneering band Black Sabbath who became the throaty, growling voice — and drug- and alcohol-ravaged id — of heavy metal, died today, just weeks after his farewell show. He was 76. Read more here. More top stories from around the world:


New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Interpol takes anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson off most-wanted list
Interpol said Tuesday it was removing a most-wanted designation for anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson, who is sought by Japan over an encounter with a whaling ship and who was jailed for several months last year in Greenland. Watson, 74, is a former head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, whose high seas confrontations with whaling vessels have drawn support from celebrities and featured in the reality television series 'Whale Wars.' Japan wants his extradition over an encounter with a Japanese whaling research ship in 2010, when he was accused of obstructing the crew's official duties by ordering the captain of his ship to throw explosives at the whaling ship. He and his team deny those allegations. 4 Interpol said it was removing a most-wanted designation for Paul Watson. Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images Starting in 2012, Watson had been subject to a 'red notice' of Interpol, the Lyon, France-based international police body. A red notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending legal action, based on a warrant from the judicial authorities in the requesting country, in this case Japan. The Canadian-American activist — whose recent long white hair and beard give him a Santa Claus look—has long criss-crossed the world's oceans in an almost singular focus on defending whales, feeding his popularity among environmentalists, animal-rights activists, and others. Critics have questioned his often-combative methods. Watson was arrested and jailed on the Japanese warrant last year in Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, but released after five months. 'My first reaction is that the decision ends 14 years of politically motivated persecution and underscores the blatant illegality of Japanese whaling operations in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary,' Watson said in a brief statement provided by Sea Shepherd France. 4 Watson was sought by Japan over an encounter with a whaling ship and was jailed for several months last year in Greenland. AFP via Getty Images 'A small justice victory for me, a major justice victory for the whale,' he added. Denmark does not have an extradition treaty with Japan, where Watson's foundation said he could have faced a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, and the Danish government declined to extradite him to Japan. At the time of his release, the Danish Justice Ministry said it had not received adequate guarantees from Japanese authorities that the time Watson had already served in custody would be counted against any sentence he would receive in Japan. 4 Watson, 74, is a former head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, whose high seas confrontations with whaling vessels have drawn support from celebrities and featured in the reality television series 'Whale Wars.' Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images In a statement, Interpol said the decision to remove Watson from the 'red notice' list did not reflect any judgment on the merits of the case in Japan, but that it did take into account Denmark's refusal to extradite him. 'This is not a judgement on the merits of the case, or the events that occurred in 2010,' the Interpol statement said. The police agency said the decision was made by an independent body, the Commission for the Control of Interpol's File, which is tasked to ensure that the police body's processing of personal data adheres to its internal rules. The decision said Japan had 'vigorously engaged' with the commission during the review, which 'may be demonstrative of the existence of political elements around the case.' The decision noted that other countries, aside from Denmark, had refused to extradite Watson. Start and end your day informed with our newsletters Morning Report and Evening Update: Your source for today's top stories Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters Watson, after his release in December, told the AP that he was planning to travel to Interpol to make his case in person. The move means that data about Watson held by Interpol will be deleted from its extensive databases, which track some of the world's most-wanted criminals and violent extremists. William Julie, a Paris-based lawyer for Watson, said the commission recognized the 'disproportionate nature of the charges' and 'the considerable passage of time' since the incident with the whaling research ship. 4 Sea Shepherd activists hold signs with 'FREE PAUL WATSON' written on them during a demonstration in support of Paul Watson, who is currently incarcerated in Greenland, in Lyon, France, September 29, 2024. Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images In a phone interview, Julie said he had informed Watson about the decision, and his response was: 'He's relieved … He had to be resilient like he always is. He's happy we won.' Lamya Essemlali, president of Sea Shepherd France, hailed the 'good news that this notice was finally cancelled,' but she noted that Watson still could be arrested and sent to Japan for prosecution. 'It does not give Paul Watson his freedom of movements because the Japanese arrest warrant is sufficient for a country to order his arrest,″ she said.