Judge Hannah Dugan faces felony obstruction charges as well as preventing an illegal immigrant from being arrested.
Court papers filed in the arrest of Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan provided more details about why she was arrested, including an affidavit submitted by an FBI special agent that said she allowed an illegal immigrant to escape through a jury door before he was arrested by federal officials.
On Friday, FBI Special Agent Lindsay Schloemer submitted an affidavit saying that agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) attempted to serve an arrest warrant for an illegal immigrant identified as Eduardo Flores-Ruiz following a scheduled criminal court appearance before Dugan earlier this month.
New Details on Arrest
Court papers suggest Dugan was alerted to the presence of ICE agents in the courthouse by her clerk, who was informed by an attorney that they appeared to be in the hallway.
Dugan confronted the officers in the courthouse, according to the FBI agent, and told them to speak with the chief judge in his office, while demanding that they have a judicial warrant. Officials said that they instead had an administrative arrest, and the judge told them they must obtain a judicial one, the agent said.
After his hearing ended, Dugan escorted Flores-Ruiz through a jury door and evaded agents who were waiting to arrest him, according to the court filing. Flores-Ruiz escaped the courthouse and was apprehended by agents outside the building after a foot chase, the agent said, citing multiple witnesses in the courtroom.
“For example, the courtroom deputy recalled that upon the courtroom deputy’s return to the courtroom, defense counsel for Flores-Ruiz was talking to the clerk, and Flores-Ruiz was seated in the jury box, rather than in the gallery,” the affidavit stated. “The courtroom deputy believed that counsel and the clerk were having an off-the-record conversation to pick the next court date. Defense counsel and Flores-Ruiz then walked toward each other and toward the public courtroom exit.”
Dugan then allegedly got up and told Flores-Ruize to “come with me,” a courtroom deputy told the FBI. Dugan is then alleged to have escorted the individual and his lawyer through the jury door, “which leads to a non public area of the courthouse.”
