The Wisconsin Supreme Court issued an administrative order on Tuesday directing Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan to be “temporarily relieved of her official duties.”
Dugan was arrested and charged with obstruction of an official procedure on Friday after evidence surfaced that she had concealed an illegal immigrant from federal authorities, according to a criminal complaint. She was also charged with hiding a person to avoid detection and arrest, Fox News reported.
The order on Tuesday reads that Dugan “is temporarily prohibited from exercising the powers of a circuit court judge in the State of Wisconsin.”
The state Supreme Court said that the ruling would be in force “until further order of the court.”
The Wisconsin Court System confirmed to Fox News on Tuesday afternoon that Dugan would not return to the court this week, and that her workload will be handled by other judges.
Dugan is scheduled to appear in federal court on May 15 to face criminal obstruction of a federal agency and a misdemeanor allegation of hiding a person to assist them evade arrest.
On Friday, the FBI detained Dugan for allegedly sheltering a previously deported illegal immigrant in the jury chamber to prevent him from being caught by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.
Federal authorities from ICE, FBI, CBP, and DEA sought to apprehend Mexican citizen Eduardo Flores-Ruiz following his scheduled criminal court appearance before Dugan on April 18 to face three misdemeanor battery charges for allegedly assaulting two persons.
According to the lawsuit, Dugan ordered the police to go to the chief judge’s office and, following his hearing, took Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a restricted jury door, bypassing the public area where agents were waiting to aid him in escaping arrest.
Dugan appeared in federal court in Milwaukee on Friday but made no public remarks during the short hearing, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Her attorney, Craig Mastantuono, told the court, “Judge Dugan wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest. It was not made in the interest of public safety.”
Dugan rejected local accusations that she had hidden the illegal immigrant from ICE.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said that Dugan reacted to the allegations in its publication last Tuesday, saying, “Nearly every fact regarding the ‘tips’ in your email is inaccurate.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi blasted Dugan’s actions on Fox’s “America Reports.”
“We could not believe that a judge really did that,” Bondi said. “You cannot obstruct a criminal case. And really, shame on her. It was a domestic violence case of all cases, and she’s protecting a criminal defendant over victims of crime.”
Bondi said Flores-Ruiz beat up two people, “a guy and a girl.”
“[He] beat the guy, hit the guy 30 times, knocked him to the ground, choked him, beat up a woman so badly; they both had to go to the hospital,” she said.
Democrats expressed outrage after FBI Director Kash Patel revealed Friday that Judge Dugan had been arrested for allegedly assisting an illegal immigrant in evading detention by immigration authorities.
Circuit Judge Monica Isham responded by announcing she would stop hearing cases to avoid putting herself or her staff at risk if asked to take similar actions as Judge Dugan.
“Yesterday, Judge Hannah Dugan of Milwaukee County stood on her Oath in the very building she swore to uphold it and she was arrested and charged with felonies for it. Enough is enough,” she added.
“I have no intention of allowing anyone to be taken out of my courtroom by ICE and sent to a concentration camp, especially without due process as BOTH of the constitutions we swore to support requires. Should I start raising bail money?” Isham asked.
“I will not put myself or my staff who may feel compelled to help me or my community in harms [sic] way,” she concluded.
