The FBI's shocking arrest of a judge should scare the sh-t out of you
The FBI arrested a Wisconsin judge Friday, charging her with obstructing the Trump administration’s efforts to deport a Mexican immigrant, according to documents obtained by The New York Times.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced on X the arrest of Judge Hannah Dugan of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, saying that she "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."
Charging documents against Dugan claim that she was “visibly upset and had a confrontational, angry demeanor” when various government agents came into her courtroom to arrest Ruiz.
“Despite having been advised of the administrative warrant for the arrest of Flores-Ruiz, Judge Dugan then escorted Flores-Ruiz and his counsel out of the courtroom through the ‘jury door,’ which leads to a nonpublic area of the courthouse,” the documents say.
Attorney General Pam Bondi defended the arrest during an appearance on Fox News.
"What has happened to our judiciary is beyond me. They are deranged is all I can think of. I think some of these judges believe they are beyond and above the law, and they are not. And we are sending a very strong message today. If you are harboring a fugitive, we don’t care who you are, if you are helping hide one, if you are giving a [Tren de Aragua gang] member guns … anyone who is illegally in this country, we will come after you, and we will prosecute you. We will find you," she said.
The arrest of Dugan is a terrifying escalation of President Donald Trump's war on immigrants and his abuse of executive power to punish political enemies and go after the judicial branch.
On Thursday, Trump ordered the Department of Justice to investigate ActBlu, the main fundraising platform used by Democrats and Democratic organizations. Trump has also targeted law firms that employ people he considers enemies or have sued to block his illegal actions.
Trump is also defying court orders on immigration, including a unanimous Supreme Court decision to uphold an order to return the wrongly deported Maryland resident, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, from El Salvador’s notoriously violent CECOT prison.
Now Democrats are warning of the danger of the Trump administration arresting judges and weaponizing the DOJ.
“This administration’s willingness to weaponize federal law enforcement is shocking and this arrest has all the hallmarks of overreach. Federal law enforcement coming into a community and arresting a judge is a serious matter and would require a high legal bar,” Democratic Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin said in a statement.
And Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, called the arrest of Dugan “chilling.”
"This is a drastic escalation and dangerous new front in Trump’s authoritarian campaign of trying to bully, intimidate and impeach judges who won’t follow his dictates,” he wrote on X. “We must do whatever we can to defend the independent judiciary in America.”