FBI arrests US judge accused of helping man evade immigration authorities

The FBI has arrested a US judge who is accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities.

Judge Hannah Dugan allegedly escorted a man and his lawyer out of her Milwaukee courtroom through the jury door on 18 April after learning that officials were seeking his arrest.

The man, named as Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, was taken into custody outside the courthouse after officers chased him on foot.

The judge’s arrest escalates tensions between the Trump administration and the US judiciary over the president’s sweeping immigration crackdown.

Speaking onboard Air Force One, Donald Trump was asked about the case, and claimed “the courts are holding us back”.

He also complained about the length of the judicial process for removing people from the country.

Wisconsin governor Tony Evers accused Mr Trump’s government of using “dangerous rhetoric to attack and attempt to undermine our judiciary at every level”.

Ms Dugan was taken into custody by the FBI on Friday morning on courthouse grounds, according to a US Marshals spokesperson.

She appeared briefly in federal court before being released. Her next court appearance is 15 May.

She faces charges of “concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest” and obstructing or impeding a proceeding.

A statement issued on behalf of Ms Dugan, issued later on Friday, said: “Judge Hannah C Dugan has committed herself to the rule of law and the principles of due process for her entire career as a lawyer and a judge.

“She has retained former United States attorney Steven Biskupic to represent her. Judge Dugan will defend herself vigorously, and looks forward to being exonerated.”

‘Out through jury door’

Court papers suggest that Ms Dugan was alerted to the presence of US immigration authorities in the courthouse by her clerk – who in turn was told by a lawyer that officers appeared to be in the hallway.

An FBI affidavit described Ms Dugan as “visibly angry” over the arrival of immigration officers in the building.

It said she described the situation as “absurd” before leaving the bench for her chambers.

It added that along with another judge, she later approached the officers inside the court, displaying what witnesses said was a “confrontational, angry demeanour”.

After a discussion with officers over the warrant for the man, according to the affidavit, she demanded the officers speak to the chief judge and led them from the courtroom.

Afterwards, Ms Dugan was said to have returned to the courtroom and was heard saying words to the effect of “wait, come with me”, before allegedly ushering Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer out through a jury door and into a non-public area of the courthouse.

Attorney general Pam Bondi said Flores-Ruiz was facing domestic violence charges and his alleged victims were in the courtroom at the time.

The officers were said to have caught the defendant after chasing him outside the court.

US senator Tammy Baldwin called the arrest a “gravely serious and drastic move” that “threatens to breach” the separation of power between the executive and judicial branches.

The case is similar to one brought during the first Trump administration against a Massachusetts judge accused of helping a man sneak out the back door of a court to evade immigration officers.