Wisconsin high court suspends Milwaukee judge accused of helping man evade immigration authorities

MADISON Wis AP The Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended a judge accused of helping a man evade immigration leadership saying Tuesday that it is in the masses interest to relieve her of her duties as she faces two federal charges The FBI took Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan into custody Friday morning at the county courthouse She has been charged with concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest and obstructing or impeding a proceeding In its two-page order the state Supreme Court announced it was acting on its own initiative and not responding to a request from anyone Liberal justices control the court - Dugan s attorney Craig Mastantuono had no immediate comment A state court spokesperson reported that a reserve judge began filling in for Dugan on Monday for an indefinite period Dugan is accused of escorting the man and his lawyer from her court through the jury door last week after learning that U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were in the building and seeking his arrest The man was taken into custody outside after a foot chase Court documents suggest Dugan was alerted to the agents presence by her clerk who was informed by an attorney that they appeared to be in the hallway Related Articles Trump administration tells Congress it plans to label Haitian gangs as foreign terror organizations House GOP wants to pump billions into Trump s deportations and detentions as part of tax bill Take It Down Act addressing nonconsensual deepfakes and revenge porn passes What is it Trump dismisses Biden nominees to US Holocaust Memorial Council including Doug Emhoff AmeriCorps cuts prompt two dozen states led by Democrats to sue Trump administration An FBI affidavit says Dugan was visibly angry over the agents arrival and called the situation absurd before leaving the bench and retreating to her chambers It says she and another judge later approached members of the arrest association inside the courthouse with what bystanders described as a confrontational angry demeanor After a back-and-forth with officers over the warrant for the man Eduardo Flores-Ruiz she demanded they speak with the chief judge and led them away from the courtroom the affidavit says After directing the agents to the chief judge s office investigators say Dugan returned to the courtroom and was heard saying words to the effect of wait come with me before ushering Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer through the jury door into a nonpublic area The action was atypical the affidavit says because only deputies juries court staff and in-custody defendants being escorted by deputies used the back jury door Defense attorneys and defendants who were not in custody never used the jury door Dugan s arrests has sparked outrage among Democrats who have accused the Trump administration of trying to chill the judiciary Demonstrators gathered outside the FBI s Milwaukee field office Saturday to protest her arrest She is set to appear in court for arraignment May In addition to Mastantuono her attorneys include Paul Clement a prominent conservative lawayer and Steve Biskupic a former U S attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin who was appointed by President George W Bush