Former Wisconsin judge to be sentenced after conviction in obstructing arrest of Mexican immigrant

Then-Milwaukee County Circuit judge Hannah Dugan leaves the federal courthouse after a hearing in Milwaukee on May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)

Former Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan, who was convicted of felony obstruction for helping a Mexican immigrant evade federal officers in a case that highlighted U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown, is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday in U.S. federal court.

Dugan, 67, faces up to five years in prison after a jury convicted her on Dec. 19. She resigned from her position as a Milwaukee County circuit judge two weeks later amid threats of impeachment from Republican state lawmakers. She had been a judge for nine years.

Trump administration tried to make an example out of Milwaukee judge

The Trump administration brought the case against Dugan as Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents made a strategy of detaining immigrants as they showed up for court hearings across the country. Republicans branded Dugan as an activist judge, while her attorneys said during the trial that the Trump administration was trying to “crush her” in an effort to ensure judicial compliance with its sweeping immigration crackdown.

Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a fierce Trump loyalist running for Wisconsin governor, urged authorities to “lock her up” in a social media post following her conviction.

Dugan’s attorneys declined to comment ahead of the sentencing. Dugan did not testify during her trial, but her attorneys said she would be making comments to the court on Wednesday. That would be her first public comments on the case in more than a year.

Prosecutors push for ‘serious sentence’

Dugan’s attorneys argued that as a judge she was immune from prosecution. U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman, who will hand down the sentence, has rejected attempts by Dugan to vacate her obstruction conviction.

Prosecutors argued in a sentencing memo filed last week that Dugan violated her oath as a judge and put both law enforcement and the public at risk.

“Judges are entrusted with tremendous discretion, but there is a line they cannot cross,” Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Frohling wrote. “The defendant crossed that line.”

Dugan’s attorneys argued she has been “punished enough,” including resigning as a judge and facing threats of violence. They argued in her sentencing memo that she should not be sentenced to any jail time besides the part of one day she already spent in federal custody.

Under federal sentencing guidelines, the presentence report calls for 15 to 21 months behind bars. The judge is not bound by those guidelines.

Prosecutors said the average sentence for obstruction cases is 16 months, but they did not recommend a sentence.

“This was a serious offence, and it warrants a correspondingly serious sentence,” Frohling wrote.

No matter what she is sentenced to, Dugan’s attorneys said they plan to file an appeal.

Dugan’s case was a first for Wisconsin

Dugan’s case marked the first time that a state judge in Wisconsin went to trial on charges of obstructing immigration agents. While convicting her of the felony obstruction charge, jurors found her not guilty of concealing an individual to prevent arrest, a misdemeanor.

On April 18, 2025, immigration officers went to the Milwaukee County courthouse after learning 31-year-old Eduardo Flores-Ruiz had reentered the country illegally and was scheduled to appear before Dugan for a hearing in a state battery case.

Dugan confronted agents outside her courtroom and directed them to the chief judge’s office because she told them their administrative warrant wasn’t sufficient grounds to arrest Flores-Ruiz.

After the agents left, she led Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a private jury door. Agents spotted Flores-Ruiz in the corridor, followed him outside and arrested him after a foot chase. A week later, FBI agents arrested Dugan in the courthouse, leading her outside in handcuffs.

Flores-Ruiz was deported in November.

Scott Bauer, The Associated Press