A Wisconsin judge accused of helping an illegal migrant evade Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials was caught on surveillance footage trying to distract the officers.
Hannah Dugan allegedly helped Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a Mexican national, evade arrest when he appeared in her courtroom on April 18 for a pretrial hearing in a domestic abuse case.
Federal prosecutors have claimed Dugan directed the ICE agents to the chief judge, and helping Flores-Ruiz and his attorney leave the courtroom through a restricted exit typically used by jurors.
Newly released surveillance footage from the Milwaukee County Courthouse that day apparently shows her engaging in the conduct, for which she is charged with obstructing a federal investigation and concealing an individual to prevent arrest.
In the footage released by Milwaukee County under an open records request, Dugan could be seen wearing her black robes and confronting federal agents.
As they then walked away, Flores-Ruiz and his attorney were seen leaving through the so-called jury door.
An agent could also be seen following Flores-Ruiz onto an elevator and out of the courthouse.
Soon, Flores-Ruiz was caught running north for nearly a block before agents ultimately apprehended him outside of the courthouse.
Federal prosecutors arrested Dugan one week later, with a criminal complaint claiming she ‘became visibly angry’ and called the ICE agents presence at the court hearing ‘absurd,’ before she left the bench.
‘Witnesses uniformly reported that Judge Dugan was visibly upset and had a confrontational, angry demeanor,’ it stated
Dugan then allegedly asked the officers to leave and informed them they needed a judicial warrant to arrest Flores-Ruiz.
An affidavit also claimed Dugan told the migrant and his attorney, ‘wait come with me’ before they left the courthouse and directed them to the back jury door.
The courtroom deputy told investigators that the door is only used for deputies, juries, court staff, and defendants already in custody.
The deputy added that defense attorneys and defendants who weren’t in custody ‘never’ used that door.
At that point, the criminal complaint says, Dugan adjourned the case without the state attorney’s knowledge.
Flores-Ruiz had been accused of punching someone 30 times in the face after they complained he was playing loud music.
He was charged with three counts of misdemeanor battery for allegedly assaulting three people on March 12.
Flores-Ruiz also faces charges for allegedly returning to the US illegally after prosecutors say he was deported in 2013.
ICE agents in Milwaukee were then alerted to Flores-Ruiz’s hearing on April 18, and agents showed up at the courthouse to arrest him.
He is now due back in court on June 2 for a final pretrial conference, and a status conference for his battery and domestic abuse charges is set for June 18.
Meanwhile, Dugan has also pleaded not guilty to the charges, as her attorneys try to get the indictment tossed out – arguing that as a judge she is immune from prosecution over official actions and that the case intrudes on state authority.
‘The government’s prosecution of Judge Dugan is virtually unprecedented and entirely unconstitutional,’ her lawyers wrote in a court filing.
Dugan is being supported by over 150 former state and federal judges, who signed a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi calling her arrest an ‘assault on the judiciary, the Rule of Law and those who administer it.’
Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin also stood by Dugan, writing in a statement that the arrest was a ‘gravely serious and drastic move.’
‘Make no mistake, we do not have kings in this country and we are a Democracy governed by laws that everyone must abide by,’ Baldwin previously said.
‘By relentlessly attacking the judicial system, flouting court orders, and arresting a sitting judge, this President is putting those basic Democratic values that Wisconsinites hold dear on the line.’
Yet the Wisconsin Supreme Court has suspended the judge, claiming it was in the public interest to relieve her of her duties as she faces the federal charges.
The order noted that the court was acting on its own initiative and was not responding to a request from anyone. Liberal justices control the court 4-3.
Dugan’s legal team said it was disappointed ‘that the Court acted in unilateral fashion. We continue to assert Judge Dugan’s innocence and look forward to her vindication in court.’
She is now due back in court on July 9 for a pretrial hearing and a jury trial is set for July 21.