George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said on Monday a Wisconsin judge charged with helping an illegal immigrant attempt to evade arrest by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had “crossed” into “arguably criminal” conduct.
FBI agents arrested Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan Friday on obstruction charges after she allegedly misdirected ICE agents seeking to arrest an illegal immigrant who had a hearing before her on April 18 before escorting the illegal immigrant out through a back door. Turley noted a similar incident occurred in Massachusetts in 2019 and led to charges that the Biden administration later dropped, after noting that the judge had offered appearances via Zoom for some people. (RELATED: Gregg Jarrett Says Wisconsin Judge Has ‘No Viable Defense’ Against Charges For Aiding Illegal Immigrant)
“Judges probably can set Zoom hearings, it’s in their discretion, I doubt that that alone would bring further legal action, but what Judge Dugan did here is far more direct and arguably criminal,” Turley told “America Reports” co-host Sandra Smith. “You know, she got down from the bench and became part of what the law enforcement officials are saying is a pattern of illegality.”
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“I mean, she helped this person evade arrest and we’ve seen this before in Boston in 2019, I wrote about a judge who actively helped secrete a fugitive so that he would not be arrested,” Turley continued. “She was ultimately charged, but under the Biden administration, they just dropped those charges and many of us were very critical of that because we thought the intent was clear.”
Democrats have rallied to protest the arrest of Dugan, with some calling it an attack on “democratic values” and an “attack” on the judicial branch. The Trump administration is fighting multiple injunctions blocking some efforts to deport illegal immigrants.
“She was not acting as a judge at that point,” Turley said. “She was acting as an individual who was helping the evasion of law enforcement.”
Turley also said that it was clear the Trump administration was seeking to deter future incidents like the one in Wisconsin by charging Dugan. (RELATED: Alan Dershowitz Predicts Judge’s Threat To Appoint Prosecutor Over Deportation Flights ‘Won’t Stand’)
“This was clearly a shot across the bow, because the administration saw a judge who was openly evading federal authority becoming an active player in these alleged illegal actions and they decided to draw a line right here because she stepped over the line between being a judge and being an alleged participant in a criminal act,” Turley told Smith
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