Former Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan fined, avoids prison for obstructing ICE arrest

Hannah Dugan's sentence comes after she helped an immigrant in the US avoid ICE agents waiting to arrest him in 2025.

A former judge was spared a prison sentence Wednesday after being convicted for helping an immigrant evade ICE agents in her Wisconsin courtroom.U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman only gave Hannah Dugan a $5,000 fine, saying, “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.” Dugan faced up to five years in prison.“This is a few minutes of conduct for someone who has dedicated her life to public service,” Adelman said. “It’s a marked deviation from an otherwise law-abiding life.”Dugan was found guilty last December on two counts of federal obstruction, though jurors did not charge her with concealing an individual from arrest. The case followed an incident in which federal immigration agents entered the court in April 2025 to arrest Mexican immigrant Eduardo Flores-Ruiz. Dugan confronted the agents outside her courtroom and redirected them to the chief judge’s office on grounds that their warrant was insufficient. Flores-Ruiz was later arrested outside the court.In his ruling, Adelman noted that Dugan had decades of public service, no pattern of criminal behavior, and an otherwise clean record. He added that the consequences of Dugan having a criminal record and losing her judicial position were enough, and that Flores-Ruiz was ultimately detained and deported anyway.Before her sentencing, Dugan told the court that she meant to preserve “decorum and safety of the courtroom” by helping Flores-Ruiz.“I have been cast as both a scofflaw and a hero. I am neither. I am a public servant who’s just trying to do my job,” Dugan said.Six ICE agents showed up at Dugan’s Milwaukee courthouse in April last year, preparing to arrest and deport Flores-Ruiz, who was set to appear before Dugan in court over three misdemeanor counts of battery. According to prosecutors, Dugan led Flores-Ruiz out of a private door instead of the courtroom’s public exit, telling her court reporter she’d “get the heat” for her actions.The FBI subsequently arrested Dugan, sparking a backlash from Democrats and even some conservatives. She later resigned from the Milwaukee County Circuit bench after Wisconsin Republican legislators threatened to impeach her.

Former Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan will not serve time in prison and instead will pay a $5,000 fine after being convicted of federal obstruction for ushering a defendant from Mexico out of her courtroom to avoid Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman on Wednesday said Dugan’s conduct showed a lapse...

Former Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan is avoiding prison time despite being found guilty of obstructing ICE agents after Clinton-appointed Judge Lynn Adelman decided that Dugan is a “good person upset by immigration enforcement in this country.” Dugan was convicted last year after ICE agents showed up to the Milwaukee County courthouse to detain 31-year-old […]

Former Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan will not serve time in prison for obstructing an ICE arrest of a Mexican immigrant, but was issued a fine of $5,000. NBC News' Maggie Vespa reports on the ruling and what Dugan had to say about the incident and sentence.

Hannah Dugan was fined $5,000 for ushering a Mexican defendant out of her courtroom to evade ICE agentsA former Wisconsin judge who was convicted of felony obstruction for ushering a Mexican defendant out of her courtroom to evade US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents has been spared prison.A federal judge on Wednesday instead fined Judge Hannah Dugan $5,000, citing her otherwise law-abiding life in issuing the sentence. Continue reading...