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Patriot Brief

• A Wisconsin judge was convicted for obstructing ICE during an arrest.

• She helped an illegal immigrant felon escape through a courtroom exit.

• The jury delivered a clear message: judges are not above the law.

Judges spend their careers reminding everyone else that actions have consequences. That’s why this case landed with such force. Hannah Dugan wasn’t some confused bystander or low-level activist — she was a sitting judge who knowingly interfered with federal law enforcement because she didn’t like the policy being enforced.

The facts were straightforward. An illegal immigrant with a criminal record was about to be taken into ICE custody. Instead of allowing that process to occur, Dugan chose to personally intervene, guiding him out a restricted exit to avoid arrest. That wasn’t civil disobedience. That was obstruction — and the jury saw it that way.

The guilty verdict matters beyond this one courtroom. For years, the public has been told that judges are neutral arbiters who apply the law regardless of politics. When a judge abandons that role and turns the bench into a shield for lawbreakers, the credibility of the entire system suffers. Accountability in cases like this isn’t vengeance — it’s restoration.

It’s also worth noting what didn’t happen here. Prosecutors didn’t seek to make Dugan a symbol or martyr. They presented evidence, followed procedure, and let a jury decide. The process worked the way it’s supposed to, even when the defendant wore a robe.

The broader message is unavoidable: resistance cosplay ends when criminal statutes begin. If someone in power believes their personal politics excuse illegal conduct, especially conduct that endangers public safety, then consequences are not only appropriate — they’re necessary. The rule of law only survives if it applies upward as well as down.

From Western Journal:

You’d think that, of all the people who know that actions have consequences, judges would be first and foremost among them.

Hannah Dugan of the Milwaukee County Circuit Court in Wisconsin apparently forgot about this, at least temporarily. She’s the liberal judge who got hit with federal obstruction charges after she helped an illegal immigrant felon escape Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody earlier this year.

Well, now she’s in what we like to call the “find out” phase of things; on Thursday evening, Dugan was found guilty on the obstruction count and faces up to five years behind bars, according to Fox News.

On April 18, Dugan helped Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, who had illegally entered the country multiple times and was set to be arrested and deported by ICE, escape through a back door in her courtroom not available to the public.

NEW: video evidence released from the Milwaukee County courthouse on April 18th—radical Judge Hannah Dugan, charged with obstructing a federal investigation to help a “Milwaukee man”, AKA Illegal Alien Eduardo Flores-Ruiz evade ICE Agents lawful arrest.

No one is above the law. pic.twitter.com/11T7ILG5N6

— Dapper Detective (@Dapper_Det) May 22, 2025

 

After six hours of deliberation, jurors found her guilty on the felony obstruction count but not guilty on a count of concealing an individual to prevent arrest.

She faces up to five years on the obstruction charge.

Reacting to the verdict, interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin Brad Schimel said that Dugan “is certainly not evil nor is she a martyr for some greater cause.”

“It was a criminal case, like many that make their way through this courthouse every day, and we all must accept the verdict peacefully,” he said, adding that prosecutors “weren’t trying to make an example out of anyone.”

“This was necessary to hold Judge Dugan accountable in our assessment because of the action she took,” he told reporters.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, however, was more blunt.

“Today, a federal jury of her peers found her guilty and sent a clear message: the American people respect law and order. Nobody is above the law,” he said in a social media statement.

“This Department will not tolerate obstruction, will enforce federal immigration law, and will hold criminals to account — even those who wear robes. Thank you to the men and women who keep us safe. We will always protect you.”

Former Wisconsin state judge Hannah Dugan betrayed her oath and the people she served when she obstructed federal law enforcement during an immigration enforcement operation.

Today, a federal jury of her peers found her guilty and sent a clear message: the American people…

— Todd Blanche (@DAGToddBlanche) December 19, 2025

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