Wisconsin judge pleads not guilty to helping a man evade immigration agents
This 2016 photo shows Judge Hannah Dugan in Milwaukee
By Whitney Wild, Bill Kirkos and Chris Boyette, CNN
Milwaukee (CNN) — Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan entered a not guilty plea Thursday to federal charges that she helped a man who is in the country illegally evade immigration agents who were trying to detain him at her courthouse.
Around 100 protesters gathered in front of the federal building and court in downtown Milwaukee on Thursday morning ahead of an arraignment hearing.
Last month, federal prosecutors charged Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan with obstruction and concealing an individual to prevent arrest. She was indicted Tuesday on the same charges by a grand jury. If convicted of both counts, she could be sentenced to up to six years in prison.
Demonstrators Thursday carried signs that said, “Liquidate the Oligarchs,” “Not Guilty” and “Hands off Democracy.” They chanted phrases including “Democracy! Hands off!” and “Free speech! Hands off!”
Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, who had been deported in 2013 but who prosecutors say illegally returned to the US, was in Dugan’s courtroom on April 18 for a hearing about a misdemeanor domestic violence charge when Dugan’s clerk alerted her that immigration agents were in the courthouse looking to arrest him, prosecutors allege in court documents.
Dugan allegedly called the situation “absurd” and directed the agents to speak to the chief judge before showing Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a back door, prosecutors said.
The immigration agents eventually detained Flores-Ruiz outside the building following a foot chase, according to the court documents.
Dugan’s attorneys filed a motion Wednesday arguing that all she did on that day was direct people’s movement in and around her courtroom, and that she enjoys legal immunity for official acts she performs as a judge.
“Immunity is not a defense to the prosecution to be determined later by a jury or court; it is an absolute bar to the prosecution at the outset,” the motion said.
Dugan’s attorneys cited the 2024 US Supreme Court ruling that found former presidents have absolute immunity from prosecution for official acts in President Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
