MILWAUKEE– Friday afternoon, Milwaukee leaders showed their disapproval of Federal law enforcement arresting Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan.
Dugan was arrested on one charge of obstructing federal agencies and one charge of concealing an individual to prevent their discovery and arrest.
These charges are in response to federal prosecuters accusing Dugan of helping supposedly Mexican immigrant Eduardo Flores-Ruiz evade ICE officials on April 18th during a preliminary hearing.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson talked with members of the press to voice his displeasure of how Judge Dugan was arrested at her office with a large force of federal agents to guide her to the Wisconsin Federal Courthouse in downtown Milwaukee.
“This overly dramatic arrest of a judge at a county courthouse adds to a big problem created by the Federal approach to immigration enforcement,” said Johnson. “What they’ve done is drive people away from participating in what are legitimate courthouse activities. These folks may be victims, they may be witnesses, civil case participants or people who receive traffic tickets. When these people are driven away, that makes our community less safe.”
In addition, Mayor Johnson called out Trump officials saying that Dugan’s arrest was nothing more than show-boating.
“Typically when something like this happens, an indictment of a potential defendent is ordered. There will be a court appearance. That didn’t happen in this case,” said Johnson. “I think what happened here was show-boating. They’re just trying to have this show of force and in the process of doing this in a courthouse, where people need to go for court precedings, they’re scaring people away from participating in the judiciary process.”
County Executive David Crowley was no different in expressing his frustration to the actions made by federal officials.
“Overall, I am extremely concerned about the Trump administration’s intentions to instill fear and hostility across the community, especially among our judges who are tasked with the important role of interpreting and upholding our laws. The example being made fo Judge Dugan’s case speaks directly to the concerns being raised about targeting individuals throughout our judicial systems across our country.”
Even Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers sent a statement giving his thought on the events that took place on Friday:
“In this country, people who are suspected of criminal wrongdoing are innocent until their guilt is proven beyond reasonable doubt and they are found guilty by a jury of their peers—this is the fundamental demand of justice in America,” wrote Evers. “Unfortunately, we have seen in recent months the president and the Trump Administration repeatedly use dangerous rhetoric to attack and attempt to undermine our judiciary at every level, including flat-out disobeying the highest court in the land and threatening to impeach and remove judges who do not rule in their favor. I have deep respect for the rule of law, our nation’s judiciary, the importance of judges making decisions impartially without fear or favor, and the efforts of law enforcement to hold people accountable if they commit a crime. I will continue to put my faith in our justice system as this situation plays out in the court of law.”
Judge Dugan will reappear in federal court May 15th.
