The FBI arrested a Wisconsin judge and former Catholic Charities administrator on Friday for allegedly obstructing a criminal investigation and impeding the arrest of an accused illegal immigrant at her courthouse in Milwaukee earlier this month.
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested after she allegedly hid Mexican national Eduardo Flores-Ruiz in a nonpublic part of the courthouse when federal law enforcement attempted to arrest him on April 18, according to the criminal complaint.
Flores-Ruiz had been appearing before Dugan that day for a pre-trial conference on three misdemeanor battery charge that included allegedly punching someone more than 30 times on March 12, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know.
Flores-Ruiz, who had been deported in 2013 before illegally crossing over the border again at an unknown date, also allegedly punched a woman who tried to break up the fight.
When she learned federal law enforcement were waiting to arrest Flores-Ruiz, Dugan became visibly shaken and directed him and his attorney through a restricted door that allowed them to bypass where agents were waiting, according to the complaint.
“Witnesses uniformly reported that Judge Dugan was visibly upset and had a confrontational, angry demeanor,” according to the complaint.
Dugan, who has been on the bench since 2016, also served as administrator and executive director of the nonprofit Catholic Charities of Southeastern Wisconsin from 2006-09, according to her bio. She also practiced at Legal Action of Wisconsin and the Legal Aid Society.
The Christian Post has reached out to Catholic Charities USA, and will update this article if they respond.
FBI Director Kash Patel accused Dugan on Friday of endangering federal law enforcement by effectively requiring an FBI agent and DEA agent to chase Flores Ruiz down on foot before he was ultimately placed in ICE custody.
“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,” Patel tweeted following Dugan’s 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,” he added.
ICE officials have arrested two other people in courthouse hallways in recent weeks, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Appearing Friday on Fox News, Attorney General Pam Bondi explained the details of Dugan’s alleged actions, which she described as hard to believe.
Wild! Attorney General Pam Bondi explains what really happened with Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan that led to her arrest by FBI:
“The Judge learns that ICE was outside to get the guy, because he had been deported in 2013, came back into our country, charged with committing these… pic.twitter.com/Af7a1JdJR4
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) April 25, 2025
When Dugan discovered federal law enforcement had shown up to arrest Flores-Ruiz, Bondi said, the judge “goes out into the hallway, screams at the immigration officer.”
“She’s furious, visibly shaken, upset; sends them off to talk to the chief judge,” she added.
“She comes back into the courtroom — you’re not going to believe this — takes the defendant and the defense attorney back in her chambers. Takes them out a private exit and tells them to leave, while the state prosecutor and victims of domestic violence are sitting in the courtroom.”
“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.”
“Judge Dugan wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest. It was not made in the interest of public safety,” said Craig Mastantuono, Dugan’s attorney. Dugan faces her next court appearance on May 15.
Dugan’s arrest came a day after the FBI arrested a former New Mexico judge for allegedly harboring an accused illegal immigrant and member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua in his guesthouse.
Democratic former Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Jose “Joel” Cano and his wife, Nancy Cano, were each slapped with two charges of evidence tampering for allegedly allowing Cristhian Ortega-Lopez to live with them.
Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to jon.brown@christianpost.com
