Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan has finally resigned following her December felony conviction for obstructing federal immigration agents while helping an illegal alien evade arrest.
Dugan, who actively helped an illegal immigrant dodge arrest right in her own courthouse, submitted her resignation letter to Democrat Governor Tony Evers on Saturday, just as Wisconsin Republicans were gearing up for impeachment proceedings.
The incident took place on April 18 at the Milwaukee County Courthouse.
Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a 31-year-old Mexican national who had illegally reentered the U.S. after prior deportation, was appearing before Dugan on a state battery charge. Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, armed with an administrative warrant, were waiting outside her courtroom to arrest him for immigration violations.
Instead of upholding the law, Dugan confronted the agents, questioned their authority, and directed them to the chief judge’s office.
While they were distracted, she escorted Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out through a private jury door in an attempt to help him escape. Agents spotted the group, gave chase on foot, and eventually apprehended Flores-Ruiz outside.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security later confirmed his deportation in November.
The judge’s actions were a deliberate act of obstruction that put federal officers at risk and mocked the rule of law.
Federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin charged Dugan in April with felony obstruction of proceedings, which carries up to five years in prison, and misdemeanor concealment to prevent arrest, which carries a sentence up to one year.
“The allegations against Judge Dugan and Judge Cano are serious: no one, least of all a judge, should obstruct law enforcement operations,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi in a press release at the time. “Doing so imperils the safety of our law enforcement officers and undermines the rule of law. The Department of Justice will continue to follow the facts — no one is above the law.”
Dugan’s federal trial began in December, and prosecutors presented testimony from ICE agents who described her interference in detail.
After six hours of deliberation, the jury convicted her on the felony obstruction charge but acquitted her on the misdemeanor concealment count.
Sentencing is pending, but Dugan’s legal team has filed a motion for a new trial.
On December 19, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Majority Leader Tyler August issued a joint statement calling for Dugan’s immediate resignation, citing the Wisconsin Constitution’s ban on convicted felons holding public office.
“Wisconsinites deserve to know that their judiciary is impartial and that justice is blind. Judge Hannah Dugan is neither, and her privilege of serving the people of Wisconsin has come to an end,” they declared.
The Republican lawmakers vowed to initiate impeachment if she refused, the first such action against a judge in Wisconsin since 1853.
Facing imminent impeachment, Dugan caved on Saturday, sending a resignation letter to Governor Evers with immediate effect.
In the letter, she defended her decade on the bench, claiming she handled “thousands of cases with a commitment to treat all persons with dignity and respect, to act justly, deliberately and consistently, and to maintain a courtroom with the decorum and safety the public deserves.”
She framed her legal battle as a fight for “judicial independence” and expressed a “heavy heart” about stepping down to avoid a “partisan fight in the state legislature.”
A spokesperson for Evers confirmed receipt of the letter and stated the governor would “work to fill the vacancy without delay,” according to a report from Fox 6.
