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A Wisconsin judge pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges that she helped a man who is in the country illegally evade US immigration authorities looking to arrest him in her courtroom.
The Milwaukee county circuit judge Hannah Dugan entered the plea during an arraignment in federal court, an early step in the criminal justice process. Defendants routinely plead not guilty at this point to give their attorneys time to investigate and to preserve their right to a trial.
Dugan is charged with concealing an individual to prevent arrest and obstruction. Prosecutors say she escorted Eduardo Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer out of her courtroom through a back jury door on 18 April after learning that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were in the courthouse seeking his arrest for being in the country illegally.
She could face up to six years in prison if convicted on both counts.
Her attorneys have insisted she is innocent. They filed a motion on Wednesday to dismiss the case, saying she was acting in her official capacity as a judge and therefore is immune to prosecution. They also maintain the federal government violated Wisconsin’s state sovereignty by disrupting a state courtroom and prosecuting a state judge.
Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside the courthouse ahead of Thursday’s hearing, with some holding signs that read, “Only Fascists Arrest Judges – Drop the Charges,” “Department of Justice Over-Reach” and “Keep Your Hands Off Our Judges!!” The crowd chanted “Due process rights”, “Hands off our freedom” and “Si se puede” – Spanish for “Yes, we can” – which is a rallying cry for immigrant rights advocates.
One man stood alone across the street holding a Trump flag.
According to court documents, Flores-Ruiz illegally re-entered the US after being deported in 2013. Online state court records show he was charged with three counts of misdemeanor domestic abuse in Milwaukee county in March. He was in Dugan’s courtroom on 18 April for a hearing.
Court documents say Dugan was alerted to the agents’ presence by her clerk, who was informed by an attorney that the agents appeared to be in the hallway. An affidavit says Dugan was visibly angry and called the situation “absurd” before leaving the bench and retreating to her chambers. She and another judge later approached members of the arrest team in the courthouse with what witnesses described as a “confrontational, angry demeanor”.
After a back-and-forth with the agents over the warrant for Flores-Ruiz, Dugan demanded they speak with the chief judge and led them from the courtroom, according to the affidavit.
After she returned to the courtroom, witnesses heard her say something to the effect of “wait, come with me” before ushering Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out through a door typically used only by deputies, jurors, court staff and in-custody defendants, according to the affidavit.
Flores-Ruiz was free on a signature bond in the abuse case, according to online state court records. Federal agents ultimately captured him outside the courthouse after a foot chase.
The state supreme court suspended Dugan last week, saying the move was necessary to preserve public confidence in the judiciary.
A former federal prosecutor in Wisconsin, John Vaudreuil, said the Trump administration wanted to make an example out of Dugan.
The US attorney general, Pam Bondi, or the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, are probably making the decisions on how to proceed rather than the local US attorney in Milwaukee, making it less likely prosecutors will reduce the charges against Dugan in a deal, he said.
Her attorneys will probably try to push the case to a jury trial, Vaudreuil said, because they know that “people feel very strongly about the way the president and administration is conducting immigration policy”.
