Former Wisconsin judge spared prison for obstructing ICE arrest of
Mexican immigrant
[July 09, 2026]
By CLAIRE SAVAGE and SCOTT BAUER
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Former Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan was spared from
prison Wednesday for ushering a Mexican defendant through her jury room
door as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents sought to arrest
him in a courthouse hallway.
U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman fined her $5,000, describing the case
as a situation where an otherwise good person, upset by immigration
policies in this country, made a bad decision in the moment.
Dugan, 67, was convicted of felony obstruction in December. Her lawyers
argued during her trial that President Donald Trump’s administration
sought to “crush” Dugan in an effort to ensure judicial compliance with
the ICE strategy of targeting immigrants as they showed up for court
hearings.
Dugan resigned the Milwaukee County circuit judgeship she had held for
nine years in January amid threats of impeachment from Republican state
lawmakers who labeled her an activist judge. In her resignation letter,
she said her prosecution threatened "the independence of our judiciary."
Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a fierce Trump loyalist running for
Wisconsin governor, had urged authorities to “lock her up.”
In a statement Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern
District of Wisconsin emphasized that the jury's verdict last December
and Adelman's sentence reflect Dugan's abuse of her position to obstruct
law enforcement officers.
“Law enforcement officers need to be able to carry out their lawful
responsibilities in the manner that is safest for them, the public and
the individual they are attempting to detain,” said First Assistant U.S.
Attorney Brad Schimel. “Dugan’s reckless and illegal actions interfered
with that goal and created unnecessary risks for all involved. For that
there needed to be serious consequences.”
Dugan says she was just trying to do her job
Dugan addressed the court, saying she tried to do her best as a judge,
and that her actions that day in April 2025 were not done maliciously
but rather to maintain the “decorum and safety of the courtroom.”
"I have been cast as both a scofflaw and a hero. I am neither,” Dugan
said, adding that she was trying to do her job. She said she has had to
retire from public life because of threats against her and her family.
Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Frohling acknowledged that
Dugan has experienced collateral consequences but said “judges can't
choose to disregard the law.”
The judge said Dugan lost her job, now has a felony conviction and
experienced threats that forced her to move and stop attending community
events. He also noted that Dugan’s actions didn’t stop the ICE agents
from arresting the defendant outside the courthouse.
“This conviction affirms that no one is above the law,” Adelman said.
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Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan leaves the federal
courthouse after a hearing in Milwaukee on May 15, 2025. (AP
Photo/Andy Manis, File)
Prosecutors had pushed for a ‘serious sentence’
Prosecutors had argued in a sentencing memo that Dugan violated her
oath as a judge and put both law enforcement and the public at risk.
“Judges are entrusted with tremendous discretion, but there is a
line they cannot cross,” Frohling wrote. “The defendant crossed that
line.”
Dugan’s attorneys argued she has been “punished enough,” and should
not be sentenced to any jail time beyond the hours she spent in
federal custody.
Federal sentencing guidelines called for 15 to 21 months behind
bars, but the judge, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton in
1997, wasn't bound by them. Prosecutors did not recommend a
sentence, but Frohling wrote that "this was a serious offense, and
it warrants a correspondingly serious sentence.”
Attorney Jason Luczak said after the sentencing that they would
still appeal Dugan’s felony obstruction conviction. Jurors acquitted
her at trial of concealing an individual to prevent arrest, a
misdemeanor.
What happened in the courthouse that day
On April 18, 2025, immigration officers went to the Milwaukee County
courthouse after learning Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 31, had reentered the
country illegally and was scheduled to appear before Dugan for a
hearing in a state battery case.
Dugan confronted agents outside her courtroom and directed them to
the chief judge's office, saying their administrative warrant wasn’t
sufficient to arrest Flores-Ruiz. Her attorneys said during her
trial that she was following protocols that called for court
employees to report any immigration agents to their supervisors.
After the agents left, she led Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a
private jury door. Agents spotted Flores-Ruiz in the corridor,
followed him outside and arrested him after a foot chase. A week
later, FBI agents arrested Dugan in the courthouse, leading her
outside in handcuffs.
Flores-Ruiz was deported in November.
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Associated Press contributors include Hannah Fingerhut in Des
Moines, Iowa. Bauer reported from Madison, Wisconsin.
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