MILWAUKEE (AP) — Hannah Dugan, the Milwaukee judge accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities, is known for running a strict courtroom while also being a familiar face in the community, particularly at interfaith events.
while on her way to work at the Milwaukee County courthouse catapulted her into the national fight between the Trump administration and the judiciary over immigration policies.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced the move via social media, saying Dugan “increased danger to the public.†The judge allegedly let Eduardo Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer leave her courtroom through a jury door on April 18 to help avert his arrest, according to an FBI affidavit.
Flores-Ruiz, a native of Mexico, was in court on a battery charge.
Here's what we know so far about Dugan and the case against her:
Who is Dugan?
Dugan has been a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge since defeating an incumbent appointee of former Republican Gov. Scott Walker in 2016. She run unopposed in 2022, and her current term expires in 2028.
Tom Barrett, a former congressman and mayor of Milwaukee for 17 years, said he was friends with Dugan’s older sister in high school and has known Dugan, 65, since she was 12.
“As a person and a judge, she always tries to do the right thing, and she cares deeply about the community and people and justice,†Barrett said.
Dugan is “extremely active in the community and is present at many events,†said Ann Jacobs, a personal injury plaintiff attorney and Democratic chair of the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
“She is always at every parade on behalf of the judges,†Jacobs said. “She is at interfaith events. Her faith is very important to her.â€
Dugan previously was a litigation attorney and held administrative posts at Legal Action of Wisconsin Inc. and Legal Aid Society Inc.
As an attorney, legal areas she focused on were older people and disabilities, civil rights, public benefits, family and housing issues, domestic abuse, and poverty law, according to her .
Dugan was president of the Milwaukee Bar Association from 1999 to 2000 and worked three years as executive director of Catholic Charities of Southeastern Wisconsin Inc.
She was a finalist in the Most Trusted Public Official category in the 2021 Best of Milwaukee contest in The Shepherd Express, an alternative news source.
A 1981 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she also received her law degree in 1987, Dugan has taught law and graduate students at Marquette University in Milwaukee.
What kind of a judge is Dugan?
Attorneys who have appeared before Dugan describe her as extremely tough but fair.
“She is a stickler for procedure,†Milwaukee criminal defense attorney Julius Kim said. “She’s fair. I certainly don’t think she’s a pushover, by any stretch. She’s very methodical in her approach.â€
Kim said Dugan takes her job very seriously.
“In terms of toughness, she has a particular way of wanting things done in court,†he said. “In terms of her sentences, comments and how she treats litigants, I think she’s fair.â€
Jacobs agreed, saying Dugan has “very strong views on how to manage her courtroom.â€
A sign that remained posted on Dugan’s courtroom door Friday advised that if an attorney or other court official “knows or believes that a person feels unsafe coming to the courthouse†or her courtroom, they should notify the clerk and request an appearance via Zoom.
Dugan previously found herself involved in a political fight in 2023, when she dismissed a Republican Party lawsuit that argued a Milwaukee get-out-the-vote effort was illegal.
What is she accused of?
The FBI took Dugan into custody on the courthouse grounds — the same building that federal immigration agents entered last week in search of Flores-Ruiz.
Flores-Ruiz was removed from the U.S. through Arizona over a decade ago, and there is no evidence he got permission to return, according to the affidavit.
A fingerprint match prompted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to go to the courthouse and wait outside the courtroom during his appearance.
After learning the agents were there, Dugan became “visibly angry,†according to the affidavit. She and another judge approached them in a hallway and sent them to the chief judge's office. Dugan then returned to her courtroom and ushered Flores-Ruiz and his attorney through the jury door, according to the affidavit.
Defendants who are not in custody and their attorneys never use that door, the affidavit says, only deputies, jurors, court staff and defendants who are in custody.
That allegedly helped Flores-Ruiz leave the building using an elevator. Agents nonetheless spotted him and, after a foot chase, arrested him outside.
What does the judge say about the allegations?
Nothing yet.
“The judicial code of conduct restricts judges from commenting on pending or impending matters in any court. Judge Dugan’s court calendar will be covered by another judge as needed,†District One Chief Judge Carl Ashley said in a statement.
Mayor Cavalier Johnson, a Democrat, said the arrest “was clearly more about hype than it was keeping our community safe.â€
“I really do wish that the Trump administration would focus less on settling scores with perceived potential enemies and focus their attention more on things that really matter,†Johnson said.
What happens next?
Dugan has a court date of May 15, this time as a defendant.
Outside the courthouse Friday, dozens of protesters gathered to support Dugan. Some warned that the arrest of the judge could discourage people from reporting a crime or even reporting a fire for fear they themselves could be detained.
“These actions are transparently meant to be chilling, cruel and undermining the rule of law,†said Melinda Brennan, executive director of the ACLU of Wisconsin.
Brian Schimming, chair of the state Republican Party, said via social media that the arrest shows that “nobody’s above the law, even judges.â€
But Republicans in the state Assembly, where they have majority control, said in a statement that the charges against Dugan are “serious, deeply troubling, and strike at the core of public trust.â€
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Gruver reported from Cheyenne, Wyoming. Associated Press writer Corey Williams in Detroit contributed.
