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A group of ethics experts is calling on the Department of Justice (DOJ) inspector general (IG) to investigate the DOJ's handling of the arrest of a Wisconsin judge last month. Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested in late April and is accused of helping an undocumented migrant, who was in court on battery charges, evade Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). She has been charged with concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest and obstructing or impeding a proceeding.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended Dugan this week, saying it was not acting on anyone's orders but was doing so to preserve public confidence in the court system. Why It Matters Dugan's suspension comes as the Trump administration is in an escalating battle with the judiciary over its aggressive campaign to ramp up deportations, including those who have not been convicted of crimes. Judge Hannah Dugan in Milwaukee in 2017.
Judge Hannah Dugan in Milwaukee in 2017. Milwaukee Independent via AP What To Know Two public ethics groups, State Democracy Defenders Fund (SDDF) and Public Citizen, sent a letter Thursday to DOJ IG Michael Horowitz urging him to investigate Dugan's arrest. They pointed in particular to public comments that FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi have made and asked Horowitz to "determine if they violated federal regulations and media policies issued by the Department of Justice ['DOJ'] that bar DOJ personnel from making public statements that are highly prejudicial or that could affect the outcome of a criminal proceeding."
Patel announced Dugan's arrest in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on April 25. "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," he 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.
"Thankfully, our agents chased down the perp on foot and he's been in custody since, but the Judge's obstruction created increased danger to the public." Patel also posted a photo on X showing Dugan being led away in handcuffs. "No one is above the law," he wrote alongside the photo.
SDDF and Public Citizen said in their letter: "Judge Dugan in handcuffs being led away by law enforcement officials in a 'perp walk' towards a waiting motor vehicle, not only appears to violate DOJ's media policy on use of photographs, but seems designed to inflame rather than convey an impartial and accurate accounting of the facts and charges." Bondi, meanwhile, railed against Dugan during a Fox News appearance last Friday. "We could not believe, actually, that a judge really did that," she said.
"It was a domestic violence case, of all cases, and she's protecting a criminal defendant over victims of crime. She put the lives of our law enforcement officers at risk. She put the lives of citizens at risk….What has happened to our judiciary is beyond me….They [judges] are deranged is all I can think of."
Bondi appeared on Fox for another interview on Monday, when she again accused Dugan of having "jeopardized the lives of law enforcement officers, even the defendant, by doing this….This is a criminal judge sitting on a criminal bench." The AG's remarks "go well beyond the type of 'incontrovertible, factual matters' permitted under DOJ regulation and policy," SDDF and Public Citizen said in the letter. The DOJ has accused Dugan of helping Flores-Ruiz, a 30-year-old Mexican national who was in court on a misdemeanor battery charge, leave her courtroom through the jury door when ICE officers showed up to arrest him.
Flores-Ruiz was arrested after a brief foot chase, the government said. What People Are Saying Norm Eisen, the executive chair of SDDF, in a statement: "The most senior leaders at the Department of Justice are not allowed to make posts and comments so clearly designed to inflame. That is why the rules we point to exist.
If unchecked, this behavior threatens the fair administration of justice." Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, in a statement: "Every person in the United States is entitled to due process and a fair trial, which the Trump Administration seems to have conveniently chosen to ignore in this case [and in many others]. The inflammatory statements made by Kash Patel and Pam Bondi are not only completely inappropriate for the nation's top law enforcement officials to make but appear to violate explicit standards set forward by the DOJ.
An investigation into that potential violation is urgently needed." Tom Homan, President Donald Trump's border czar, in an X post: "Nobody should be surprised by the arrest of two judges," referring to Dugan and former magistrate judge Joel Cano, who is charged with harboring three alleged gang members on his property. "If you actively impede our enforcement efforts or if you knowingly harbor or conceal illegal aliens from ICE you will be prosecuted."
Craig Mastantuono, Judge Hannah Dugan's lawyer, in court after her arrest: "Judge Dugan wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest. It was not made in the interest of public safety." What Happens Next Dugan's arraignment is scheduled for May 15.
