The Wisconsin judge who was arrested by the FBI for allegedly helping a man escape immigration authorities was indicted by a federal grand jury.
In the two-page indictment issued Tuesday, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan was accused of obstructing a U.S. agency and concealing an individual to prevent an arrest. She faces two charges carrying a maximum penalty of six years in prison and a $350,000 fine.
The embattled judge is expected to enter a plea challenging the indictment at a May 15 hearing.
The indictment comes after the FBI arrested Dugan in late April, accusing her of “concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest” by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Prosecutors accused Dugan of helping Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an illegal immigrant, and his lawyer out of her courtroom through a back jury door on April 18 after learning that ICE agents were in the courthouse to arrest Ruiz.
Dugan was subsequently suspended from her position over the incident by the state Supreme Court on April 29. Wisconsin’s highest court said it did so “in order to uphold the public’s confidence in the courts of this state,” saying it was “in the public interest that she be temporarily relieved of her official duties.”
The Trump administration has led Republicans in praising her arrest.
“No one is above the law,” FBI Director Kash Patel wrote in a post to X on April 25 that accompanied a photo showing a handcuffed Dugan being escorted to a police vehicle.
On Tuesday, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) celebrated the indictment.
“Let every other judge and member of Congress out there take a lesson from this: You are not above the law,” he said during an appearance on Fox News.
JUDGE THREATENS TO CLOSE COURT AFTER FBI ARREST OF MILWAUKEE JUDGE
Dugan has protested her innocence.
“Judge Dugan wholeheartedly rejects and protests her arrest,” her attorney told the press. “It was not made in the interest of public safety.”
