Former Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan avoids jail time for obstructing arrest of illegal immigrant
US District Judge Lynn Adelman orders Hannah Dugan to pay $5,000 fine for felony obstruction conviction
Former Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan was ordered Wednesday to pay a $5,000 fine for obstructing the arrest of an illegal immigrant at a courthouse but will not serve any prison time.
"I think this is a situation where an otherwise good person, upset by immigration policies in this country, made a bad decision in the moment," said U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman.
Dugan, 66, was convicted of felony obstruction last year after federal agents attempted to serve a warrant to Eduardo Flores-Ruiz on April 18, 2025. She was acquitted of concealing an individual to prevent arrest, a misdemeanor. She faced up to five years in prison.
Prosecutors had asked that Dugan be sentenced to between 15 and 21 months.
Dugan addressed the case against her on Wednesday just before Adelman imposed her sentence, defending her actions and announcing she intends to "return to public service."
"My acts that day were consistent with community concerns at the courthouse," Dugan said. "My judicial acts were not done with any malicious intent or to advance any personal interests.
"Since the government’s arrest of me, I was forced to retire. … In January, I resigned from my office so the constituents would have a judge in my branch to begin the year," she added. "I have been cast as a scofflaw and as a hero. I am neither. I am a public servant who was just trying to do my job. Your honor, I will not let those minutes on April 18, 2025, define my life’s work."
In January, Dugan resigned from the Milwaukee County circuit judgeship amid threats of impeachment from Republican state lawmakers, who labeled her an activist judge.
Before her sentencing, several people testified on her behalf. --->READ MORE HERE
Former Wisconsin judge spared prison for obstructing ICE arrest of Mexican immigrant:
Former Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan was spared from prison Wednesday for ushering a Mexican defendant through her jury room door as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents sought to arrest him in a courthouse hallway.
U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman fined her $5,000, describing the case as a situation where an otherwise good person, upset by immigration policies in this country, made a bad decision in the moment.
Dugan, 67, was convicted of felony obstruction in December. Her lawyers argued during her trial that President Donald Trump’s administration sought to “crush” Dugan in an effort to ensure judicial compliance with the ICE strategy of targeting immigrants as they showed up for court hearings.
Dugan resigned the Milwaukee County circuit judgeship she had held for nine years in January amid threats of impeachment from Republican state lawmakers who labeled her an activist judge. In her resignation letter, she said her prosecution threatened “the independence of our judiciary.” Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a fierce Trump loyalist running for Wisconsin governor, had urged authorities to “lock her up.”
In a statement Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin emphasized that the jury’s verdict last December and Adelman’s sentence reflect Dugan’s abuse of her position to obstruct law enforcement officers.
“Law enforcement officers need to be able to carry out their lawful responsibilities in the manner that is safest for them, the public and the individual they are attempting to detain,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Schimel. “Dugan’s reckless and illegal actions interfered with that goal and created unnecessary risks for all involved. For that there needed to be serious consequences.”
Dugan says she was just trying to do her job
Dugan addressed the court, saying she tried to do her best as a judge, and that her actions that day in April 2025 were not done maliciously but rather to maintain the “decorum and safety of the courtroom.”
“I have been cast as both a scofflaw and a hero. I am neither,” Dugan said, adding that she was trying to do her job. She said she has had to retire from public life because of threats against her and her family.
Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Frohling acknowledged that Dugan has experienced collateral consequences but said “judges can’t choose to disregard the law.” --->READ MORE HERE
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