April 18, 2025. Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an illegal immigrant who was previously deported but returned to America, was appearing before Judge Hannah Dugan at the Milwaukee Courthouse. He was there to answer charges of domestic violence against his roommate, girlfriend, and another friend. He savagely beat them over music he thought was too loud. But that hearing didn’t happen. Judge Dugan had other priorities.
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Immigration agents were there to arrest and deport Flores-Ruiz. They didn’t enter the courtroom or in any way disrupt the proceedings. They merely notified Dugan of their intentions when she was done with the hearing and Flores-Ruiz. Dugan tells her story at her July 8, 2026, sentencing:
“My acts that day were consistent with the expressed administrative and community concerns for our state courthouse. My judicial acts were not done with any malicious intent,” Dugan said.
She also told the court: “I’ve been cast as both a scofflaw and a hero. I am neither. I am a public servant who was just trying to do my job.”
Dugan said that during her nine years as a judge, she tried to uphold justice, the law and the Constitution while maintaining decorum and safety in her courtroom.
“For nine years as a judge I have strived to do my best to uphold justice, to uphold our laws and constitution, to have a courtroom of decorum and safety,” Dugan said. “I worked hard to uphold these duties every day and I had those same intentions on that day.”
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She acted on those “concerns” by getting another judge—in her robes—to accompany her to the hallway outside the courtroom, where she tried to distract the agents, telling them they had to see the Chief Judge. She returned to her courtroom, rescheduled the case, leaving the victims high and dry, and told Flores-Ruiz’s lawyer he could appear via Zoom at the rescheduled hearing. But that wasn’t enough. She helped Flores-Ruiz leave the courthouse via non-public means. Fortunately, the agents were on to her and caught Flores-Ruiz after a brief foot chase.
As one might expect, Democrats were, without having any idea of the facts of the case, supportive of Dugan, who was arrested on two federal charges:
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Dugan tried to excuse her illegal conduct by claiming judicial immunity, but even Judge Lynn Adelman, renowned as one of the most liberal judges on the federal bench, wasn’t buying that. The agents had an administrative warrant, and Dugan had no role as a judge in that case. She had no jurisdiction, and the idea that any judge was exercising lawful judicial authority by helping a violent criminal violate immigration law was a stretch too far even for Adelman.
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One doesn’t “uphold justice, the law and the Constitution while maintaining decorum and safety” in their courtroom by helping a violent illegal alien escape deportation and neglecting their duty to the victims of his crimes. Fueled by Trump Derangement Syndrome, she disagreed with immigration law and decided to spontaneously rewrite it. That’s the job of the legislative branch, not the judicial branch, which is charged with upholding the law, not nullifying it.
Shortly after her arrest, Dugan resigned and was disbarred. Judge Adelman declined to sentence her to probation or jail but imposed a $5000 fine, immediately payable.
Judges, like police officers and teachers, hold positions of public trust. They’re expected to uphold ethical standards others aren’t. They’re expected to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. Dugan’s betrayal of judicial ethics was as obvious as it was willful.
Did the punishment fit the crime? It’s common for first-time offenders of non-violent felonies with no prior record to get no jail time, and perhaps less common for them to get no probation. However, where a defendant expresses no remorse and admits no error, it’s also common for probation and jail time to be imposed.
The legal profession is an exclusive club, and we’re not members. Members take care of each other. I’ve seen it many times. Should a Democrat take the White House in 2028, among the first pardons issued will surely be Dugan’s, probably at the same ceremony reopening our borders. Flores-Ruiz might even be flown in for the happy occasion. Dugan’s law license will be reinstated, and a way might even be found to get her back onto the bench.
Still, for the moment, justice was done. The question is whether it was sufficient to deter other TDS warped judicial revolutionaries.
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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.