A former judge was spared a prison sentence Wednesday after being convicted for helping an immigrant evade ICE agents in her Wisconsin courtroom.
U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman only gave Hannah Dugan a $5,000 fine, saying, “I think this is a situation where an otherwise good person, upset by immigration policies in this country, made a bad decision in the moment.” Dugan faced up to five years in prison.
“This is a few minutes of conduct for someone who has dedicated her life to public service,” Adelman said. “It’s a marked deviation from an otherwise law-abiding life.”
Dugan was found guilty last December on two counts of federal obstruction, though jurors did not charge her with concealing an individual from arrest. The case followed an incident in which federal immigration agents entered the court in April 2025 to arrest Mexican immigrant Eduardo Flores-Ruiz. Dugan confronted the agents outside her courtroom and redirected them to the chief judge’s office on grounds that their warrant was insufficient. Flores-Ruiz was later arrested outside the court.
In his ruling, Adelman noted that Dugan had decades of public service, no pattern of criminal behavior, and an otherwise clean record. He added that the consequences of Dugan having a criminal record and losing her judicial position were enough, and that Flores-Ruiz was ultimately detained and deported anyway.
Before her sentencing, Dugan told the court that she meant to preserve “decorum and safety of the courtroom” by helping Flores-Ruiz.
“I have been cast as both a scofflaw and a hero. I am neither. I am a public servant who’s just trying to do my job,” Dugan said.
Six ICE agents showed up at Dugan’s Milwaukee courthouse in April last year, preparing to arrest and deport Flores-Ruiz, who was set to appear before Dugan in court over three misdemeanor counts of battery. According to prosecutors, Dugan led Flores-Ruiz out of a private door instead of the courtroom’s public exit, telling her court reporter she’d “get the heat” for her actions.
The FBI subsequently arrested Dugan, sparking a backlash from Democrats and even some conservatives. She later resigned from the Milwaukee County Circuit bench after Wisconsin Republican legislators threatened to impeach her.
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