A federal grand jury indicted Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan on Tuesday, following her arrest last month for allegedly shielding an illegal immigrant from federal agents.
Dugan, a Milwaukee County judge, was arrested on April 25 and charged with obstruction of an official proceeding after evidence surfaced suggesting she had protected an illegal immigrant from federal agents, according to a criminal complaint. She was also charged with concealing an individual to prevent their discovery and arrest.
The indictment followed testimony before the federal grand jury regarding allegations that Dugan attempted to help an illegal immigrant evade arrest in her courtroom, Fox News reported.
On Tuesday, a federal grand jury convened to review the indictment, hearing testimony that included statements from Eduardo Flores-Ruiz’s attorney, who has since withdrawn from the case, as well as from Dugan’s court clerk.
Also testifying was Milwaukee County Judge Kristela Cervera, a misdemeanor judge whose courtroom is adjacent to Dugan’s. The grand jury was expected to decide whether to indict Dugan before her previously scheduled preliminary court hearing.
Dugan’s attorneys told Fox News, “As she said after her unnecessary arrest, Judge Dugan asserts her innocence and looks forward to being vindicated in court.”
Dugan is scheduled to appear in federal court on Thursday to address charges of felony obstruction of a federal agency and misdemeanor concealing a person to help them evade arrest. During the hearing, she is expected to enter a plea regarding the charges.
The FBI arrested Dugan for allegedly concealing a previously deported illegal immigrant in her jury room to prevent him from being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Federal agents from ICE, FBI, CBP, and DEA attempted to arrest Flores-Ruiz after his scheduled court appearance before Dugan on April 18, where he was set to face three misdemeanor battery charges for allegedly assaulting two individuals.
Dugan instructed the officers to go to the chief judge’s office. After his hearing concluded, he escorted Flores-Ruiz and his attorney through a restricted jury door, avoiding the public area where agents were waiting to facilitate his arrest, according to the complaint.
Her attorney, Craig Mastantuono, told the court last month, “Judge Dugan wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest. It was not made in the interest of public safety.”
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem expressed gratitude for Dugan’s indictment by a federal grand jury during her interview with Jesse Watters on Tuesday.
“She will be held accountable for that,” Noem said. “That was a great decision, coming forward, to recognize that nobody can facilitate breaking the law. We shouldn’t be able to allow that in this country, and we need to make sure that even judges are held accountable for their actions.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi also previously shredded Dugan over her alleged attempt to shield Flores-Ruiz from arrest.
“We could not believe that a judge really did that,” Bondi said. “You cannot obstruct a criminal case. And really, shame on her. It was a domestic violence case of all cases, and she’s protecting a criminal defendant over victims of crime.”
The AG said Flores-Ruiz stood accused of beating up two people, “a guy and a girl.”
“[He] beat the guy, hit the guy 30 times, knocked him to the ground, choked him, beat up a woman so badly; they both had to go to the hospital,” she said.
Also last month, former Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Joel Cano and his wife, Nancy Cano, were taken into custody following a federal raid on their home in Las Cruces, N.M.
The couple is facing charges of evidence tampering in connection with allegations that they harbored Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, an alleged undocumented immigrant believed to be affiliated with Venezuela’s notorious Tren de Aragua gang.