The FBI and immigration officials have arrested a Milwaukee, Wisconsin judge who allegedly aided a an illegal immigrant in escaping from immigration authorities.
Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan hurried the man and his lawyer out of her courtroom through the side door reserved for jurors last week after she found out that Immigration officers were searching for him due to crimes he allegedly committed. Officers chased the man outside the building and arrested him.
The illegal immigrant is 30-year-old Mexican national Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 30, who appeared in her courtroom on April 18 for a pre-trial conference related to other crimes.
He is now in an ICE facility in Juneau, Wisc., where he must wait for his court date relating to crimes of battery and domestic violence.
“This criminal illegal alien has a laundry list of violent criminal charges including strangulation and suffocation, battery, and domestic abuse. Ruiz has illegally entered the U.S. twice,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
“On April 18, 2025, ICE assisted by deputized FBI law enforcement officials carried out a targeted operation to arrest Ruiz at the Milwaukee County Courthouse,” DHS said. “Judge Dugan intentionally misdirected ICE agents away from this criminal illegal alien to obstruct the arrest and try to help him evade arrest. Thankfully, our FBI partners chased down this illegal alien, arrested him and removed him from American communities.”
FBI Director Kash Patel said, ““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.”
As for Judge Dugan, she was released on her own recognizance. Her court appearance is May 15.
Read the complaint about the judge’s action by the arresting officer here:
It’s the second time in a month when a judge was found to have aided and abetted criminally illegal immigrants.
On Thursday, federal agents arrested a former New Mexico judge and his wife for harboring an illegal immigrant who allegedly has ties to Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan transnational criminal gang.
President Donald Trump has claimed that state and local officials have interfered with his administration’s immigration enforcement policies, which differ from his predecessor, President Joe Biden, who had an open-border, no-enforcement policy.
The county immediately issued three statements about Dugan’s arrest, none of them showing concern about the violent illegal alien who was trying to evade officers with the alleged help of the judge. The statements are:
Milwaukee County Supervisors Affirm Commitment to Due Process Following Arrest of Judge Hannah Dugan
Apr-25-2025
Milwaukee County Supervisor and 1st Vice Chair Steven Shea, 2nd Vice Chair Priscilla E. Coggs-Jones, Supervisors Juan Miguel Martinez, Jack Eckblad, Sequanna Taylor, Sky Z. Capriolo, Felesia A. Martin and Anne O’Connor issued the following statement:
Statement on Courthouse Safety After Milwaukee Judge’s Arrest
Apr-25-2025
County Board Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson, Supervisor Caroline Gómez-Tom, and Supervisor Juan Miguel Martinez issued the following statements addressing the mounting concern over the FBI’s arrest of Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley Statement on the Arrest of Judge Hannah Dugan
Apr-25-2025
Outside the courthouse, protesters stood with signs decrying the injustice of the arrest of the judge.