FBI director Kash Patel announces arrest of Wisconsin judge on charges of obstructing immigrant arrest

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FBI Director Kash Patel said Friday that the bureau had arrested a Milwaukee judge and charged her with obstructing an immigration arrest operation last week – the first known instance of the Justice Department prosecuting a local official for allegedly interfering with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement.

Patel announced the arrest of Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan in a post on the social media platform X. He accused Dugan of “intentionally misdirecting” federal agents who arrived at the courthouse to detain an immigrant who was set to appear before her in an unrelated proceeding.

“Thankfully, our agents chased down the perp on foot and he’s been in custody since,” Patel wrote. “But the Judge’s obstruction created increased danger to the public.”

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Court records surrounding Dugan’s arrest were not immediately available Friday morning, and spokespersons for the Justice Department and the FBI did not immediately return calls for comment.

Judges in some jurisdictions across the country have criticized ICE’s efforts to locate and detain migrants at courthouses. They say those efforts have made migrants unwilling to show up as victims or witnesses in unrelated hearings because they are afraid they might face arrest.

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