Hannah Dugan is the former Milwaukee judge who was, and presumably still is, a part of the “Judicial Resistance.” Well, probably not formally, because she’s no longer a judge, though plenty of them are still resisting, in the finest Trump Derangement Syndrome style, Donald Trump and immigration law enforcement. It might seem odd that judges would resist enforcing the law, but that’s why Dugan is a former judge.
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When ICE agents showed up in the Milwaukee courthouse and politely informed her they were there to detain a violent illegal alien who was appearing before her on unrelated charges and they’d wait until she was done with him, she went full resistance. Never go full resistance.
The illegal who had been previously deported and reentered the country was, with the help of Dugan and her cronies, spirited the back way out of the courthouse, while Dugan and others tried to distract the agents. Fortunately, they were on to her, and he was caught after a brief foot chase.
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Equally fortunately, she was arrested and miraculously—people like her cover for their own—convicted of violating federal law. She was also removed from her position, which, considering she’s a convicted felon, seems reasonable. She “resigned,” but one suspects that wasn’t entirely her decision. During the process, all the usual suspects were for the resistance:
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This case was full of unexpected developments. Judge Lynn Adelman was assigned Dugan’s case. Adelman is an ancient leftist, so ruthlessly leftist prominent legal scholars predicted he would almost certainly dismiss the charges against Dugan, but mirable dictu! –wonderful to tell—he didn’t. He played it straight; he did what Dugan didn’t.
Dugan appealed her conviction, and sentencing for her crimes, for which she is facing up to five years in prison, was postponed. It’s a virtual certainty she’ll do no jail time. Arguably, she should. Judges are sworn to uphold the law. They’re not supposed to help dangerous criminals avoid arrest, personally or otherwise. They’re not supposed to be above the law, and when they do what they’re not supposed to do, that’s as blatant a betrayal of the public’s trust and faith in the justice system as can be imagined. However, Dugan apparently has no prior convictions, and prison sentences under those conditions are rare.
In mid-June 2026, Dugan’s appeal was heard, again before Judge Adelman. It didn’t go well for her:
U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman found the case at the center of Dugan’s appeal is not similar enough to the present case to meet the heavy burden of reconsideration.
“The problem for the defense is that this case did not involve some random encounter on the street,” the Bill Clinton appointee reasoned in his 32-page order. “It was a targeted operation, conducted pursuant to agency procedures, including the issuance of an arrest warrant for a specific person.”
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Dugan has claimed absolute judicial immunity for her actions in trying to prevent the arrest—on a warrant—of the violent illegal alien, a man before her on unrelated charges. That, despite the fact that she was not acting in her role as a judge, nor would it have been legitimate if she were. Among the most nonsensical tactics of the TDS resistance, judicial and otherwise, is claiming ICE agents must always have local, criminal warrants to detain illegals, something federal law does not require.
Adelman said in Tuesday’s ruling that Dugan oversimplified the order, and downplayed the differences between this case and the facts of Hernandez.
Particularly, in the latter case, a different government agency had already ordered Dennis Zeledon Hernandez’s removal when ICE issued a warrant and took him into custody. A few days before his scheduled removal, he escaped.
His escape was obstruction of the proceedings against him, but because ICE issued the warrant for removal after an immigration court had already decided he was to be removed, the warrant was not part of the proceeding and considered “pure enforcement action.”
Dugan’s sentencing has yet to be rescheduled, but for now, at least, Dugan has had full due process and justice has been done. She can appeal further, but other judges will likely be reluctant to rescue Dugan after a judge as notoriously leftist as Adelman has upheld her conviction. We hope.
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Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, lifelong athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer, and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.
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