Federal authorities allege that Decide Hannah Dugan helped an undocumented man evade arrest by immigration brokers.
A Wisconsin choose has pleaded not responsible to costs accusing her of serving to an undocumented immigrant in her courtroom keep away from arrest by immigration enforcement brokers.
Milwaukee County Circuit Court docket Decide Hannah Dugan was charged final month with concealing a person to forestall arrest and obstruction. She may resist six years in jail if convicted on each counts.
Dugan’s lawyer, Steven Biskupic, entered a not responsible plea on her behalf throughout a short arraignment in a federal court docket on Thursday, with a trial date set for July 22.
Immigration authorities allege she escorted Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a person within the US with out documentation, and his lawyer out of her courtroom and thru a backdoor as immigration brokers sought to arrest him.
The case is the newest to underscore tensions between native officers and a Trump administration pursuing an aggressive crackdown on immigration that civil liberties teams say has examined the boundaries of government energy.
Dugan left the courtroom on Thursday with out remark. A crowd of protesters exterior of the court docket chanted “due course of rights” and “hold your arms off our judges” and held indicators studying “solely fascists arrest judges — drop the fees” and “Division of Justice overreach”.
Supporters of Decide Hannah Dugan protest exterior the USA Federal Constructing and Courthouse in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Thursday, Could 15, 2025 (Todd Richmond/AP Picture)
Immigration raids on delicate locations akin to courts have lengthy been a matter of dispute, with immigration rights advocates saying that such raids discourage individuals within the US with out documentation from accessing authorized help or cooperating in authorized issues.
An FBI affidavit says that when an aide knowledgeable Dugan that immigration brokers gave the impression to be within the hallway exterior her courtroom, she referred to as the scenario “absurd” and later confronted them about their warrant.
The Trump administration has constantly acknowledged that it’ll search to penalise native officers who don’t assist facilitate its enforcement push, even saying that authorized motion could possibly be taken towards such officers.
State and native officers in Democrat-led states have additionally stated in a current lawsuit that the administration threatened to withhold federal funds if they aren’t extra cooperative with enforcement efforts, which they keep is unconstitutional since Congress is tasked with the allocation of federal funds.
