Trial begins for Wisconsin judge accused of helping immigrant evade federal authorities
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Associated Press reports that Prosecutors played audio recordings Monday as they tried to show jurors that a Wisconsin judge knew what was at stake last spring when she directed an immigrant to a private door while federal agents were in the courthouse to arrest the man.
“I’ll get the heat,” Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan told her court reporter as they discussed who would assist Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, according to courtroom audio.
Dugan is on trial for obstruction and concealment, an extraordinary consequence of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
There is no dispute that Dugan directed Flores-Ruiz to leave her courtroom through a private door after telling immigration agents to speak with the chief judge about trying to arrest him. The door led to a public corridor at the courthouse.
While agents were away, Dugan quickly set a new hearing date for Flores-Ruiz and told him he could attend via Zoom, the audio showed. He was facing a misdemeanor battery crime.
“They did not expect a judge, sworn to uphold the law, would divide their arrest team and impede their efforts to do their jobs,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Alexander told the jury in federal court in Milwaukee.
Flores-Ruiz, 31, was arrested outside the county courthouse after a foot chase and deported months later.
Defense attorney Steven Biskupic said the judge had no intention of obstructing agents. He said other agents who were in the courthouse hallway decided not to arrest Flores-Ruiz when he emerged through the door and instead pursued him outdoors.
“Now, after the fact, everyone wants to blame Judge Dugan,” Biskupic told the jury.
The government’s case is expected to run through at least Thursday, with roughly two dozen witnesses lined up to testify. The first was FBI agent Erin Lucker who explained a video showing the back corridors of the courthouse and Dugan signaling to immigration officers to see Chief Judge Carl Ashley.
The maximum sentence for the more serious charge, obstruction, is five years in prison, though federal judges have much discretion to go lower.
Ahead of the trial, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman declined to dismiss the charges, saying there was no firmly established immunity for Dugan.
Democrats say Trump is looking to make an example of Dugan to blunt judicial opposition to immigration arrests. Dugan told police she and her family found threatening flyers at their homes this spring. The administration has branded her an activist judge.
Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a fierce Trump loyalist running for Wisconsin governor next year, urged authorities to “lock her up” in a recent tweet.
