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Federal prosecutors are contesting Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan’s request to dismiss an indictment accusing her of assisting an illegal immigrant in avoiding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at the Milwaukee County Courthouse last month.
Judge Dugan, aged 65, was indicted last month on federal charges of obstructing proceedings before a U.S. agency and unlawfully concealing an individual subject to arrest.
Her legal team argues that she has judicial immunity and that the federal government exceeded its authority by arresting and charging her, infringing on her 10th Amendment rights and violating the separation of powers principle, according to court documents submitted in late May.
On Wednesday, prosecutors submitted a response to her dismissal request, emphasizing that “the Supreme Court has made it clear that judges do not have immunity from criminal liability.”
WISCONSIN JUDGE CLAIMS ‘ABSOLUTE IMMUNITY,’ CALLS DOJ INDICTMENT AN ‘UGLY INNOVATION’
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan exits the federal courthouse following a hearing on Thursday, May 15, 2025 in Milwaukee. (Andy Manis, File)
“Ultimately, Dugan requests this Court to create a new doctrine of judicial immunity from criminal charges, applying it to the facts in the indictment, all without any reasonable justification—either directly or indirectly—in the Constitution, statutes, or case law,” prosecutors stated.
“In her extensive memorandum, Dugan admits that ‘judges, like legislators and executive officials, are not above the law,'” they continued.
“Dugan’s desired ruling would effectively imply that judges are ‘above the law,’ and uniquely allowed to interfere with federal law enforcement,” prosecutors added.
Federal prosecutors allege that Dugan personally escorted Mexican illegal immigrant and domestic battery suspect Eduardo Flores-Ruiz out of the courthouse on April 18 while ICE agents were attempting to serve a warrant.
NEW FOOTAGE SHOWS MILWAUKEE JUDGE CONFRONTING ICE BEFORE ALLEGEDLY HELPING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT EXIT
Eduardo Flores-Ruiz and Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan. (DHS/Milwaukee Independent via AP)
Recently released surveillance footage, obtained by Milwaukee County in response to a records request, appears to show Dugan, dressed in her black robe, confronting ICE agents in the courthouse hallway.
MILWAUKEE JUDGE HANNAH DUGAN TO ENTER PLEA IN FEDERAL COURT
According to federal prosecutors, members of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), along with federal partners from the FBI, DEA, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, were set to serve Flores-Ruiz with a warrant in a public courthouse hallway on April 18 before his upcoming court appearance with Dugan.
WATCH THE SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE:
Upon learning about what federal officials characterized as a valid immigration arrest warrant for Flores-Ruiz, Dugan allegedly informed the agents that they required a judicial warrant and advised them to visit the chief judge’s office.
The agents then left their position in the hallway, at which point Dugan purportedly decided against holding a hearing for Flores-Ruiz and “personally escorted” the suspect and his lawyer through a private exit while victims of his alleged crimes were still present in the courthouse, as stated in a Justice Department press release.
MILWAUKEE COUNTY JUDGE HANNAH DUGAN INDICTED AFTER ALLEGEDLY HELPING ILLEGAL ALIEN EVADE ICE
Supporters of Judge Hannah Dugan protest outside the United States Federal Building and Courthouse in Milwaukee on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP/Todd Richmond)
While Dugan argues that ICE agents disrupted courthouse activities on April 18, prosecutors maintain that it was Dugan who interrupted proceedings.
“The evidence will demonstrate that agents were not present in the courtroom when Dugan took the bench; rather, after being informed by a staff member that ICE agents were in the hallway, Dugan opted to pause an unrelated case, leave her courtroom, disturb the activities in a colleague’s courtroom to seek assistance, and then confront the agents in the public hallway,” the filing states.
WISCONSIN JUDGE ACCUSED OF OBSTRUCTING ICE COULD FACE YEARS IN PRISON, DOJ HAS ‘UPPER HAND’: FORMER PROSECUTOR
Judge Hannah Dugan reportedly told agents they required a judicial warrant and directed them to the Chief Judge’s Office. (Milwaukee County)
Prosecutors assert evidence also indicates Dugan guided the agents to the chief judge’s office while knowing he was not available. Following that, she “quickly returned to her courtroom and, among other actions, instructed [Flores-Ruiz’s] attorney to ‘take your client out and come back to get a date; and then go through the jury door and down the stairs’ before physically escorting [Flores-Ruiz] and his attorney into a non-public hallway leading to a courthouse exit,” according to filings.
Dugan “took these actions just days after expressing gratitude to a colleague for clarifying that ICE could legally make arrests in the courthouse halls,” the prosecutors noted on Wednesday.
The recently released surveillance footage appears to show Judge Hannah Dugan confronting ICE agents in the courthouse hallway. (Milwaukee County)
“In summary, there is no evidence in the indictment or anticipated trial evidence supporting Dugan’s claim that agents ‘disrupted’ the court’s schedule; rather, all occurrences stemmed from Dugan’s unilateral, non-judicial, and unofficial actions in obstructing a federal immigration matter for which she had no authority as a Wisconsin state judge,” the document states. “At the very least, regarding this motion, Dugan’s claims lack support in the indictment and should be dismissed.”
One of Dugan’s defense attorneys, Dean Strang, informed Fox News Digital that the legal team has a “strong response” to prosecutors’ Wednesday filing, but they plan to wait until their rebuttal, due next Monday, to present it.
The Milwaukee judge has pleaded not guilty to the charges against her, with a federal judge scheduling her trial date for July 21.
The FBI is seen arresting Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan on April 25. (Obtained by Fox News)
The federal indictment accuses Dugan of “falsely” telling federal officials in April they required a warrant to enter her courtroom during a scheduled appearance by Flores-Ruiz, an undocumented Mexican national facing three misdemeanor battery charges.
Video evidence appears to show Flores-Ruiz leaving the courthouse with his attorney, while an ICE agent trails him, before running alongside the building for about a block until agents apprehend him.
Federal authorities arrested Dugan a week following the courthouse incident.
Judge Hannah Dugan appeared in federal court to address charges that she facilitated Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an undocumented immigrant, in evading federal arrest while he was appearing in her courtroom on April 18. (Scott Olson)
Dugan could face up to six years in prison. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges against her. Fox News Digital has reached out to her attorney, Craig Mastantuono, for comments regarding the footage.
In April, Dugan’s legal team also filed a motion to dismiss the federal charges against her, asserting that the judge “is entitled to judicial immunity for her official actions.”
“Immunity is not a defense that can be determined later by a jury or court; it acts as an absolute barrier to prosecution from the outset,” the motion stated.
Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.
