Newly released surveillance footage reveals a Milwaukee County judge deliberately directing federal immigration agents away from an illegal immigrant before helping the suspect flee through a restricted courthouse exit.
Judge Hannah Dugan appears in the video wearing her black judicial robes while speaking to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who had arrived to arrest Eduardo Flores-Ruiz on April 18.
The Mexican national faced three domestic battery charges and was subject to federal immigration enforcement due to his illegal presence in the United States.
Court surveillance cameras captured Dugan sending the ICE agents down a hallway through a specific door, effectively removing them from the immediate area where Flores-Ruiz was located.
The footage shows the federal agents following Dugan’s directions and moving away from the courtroom area where the arrest was supposed to occur.
Prosecutors allege these actions constitute deliberate obstruction of a federal investigation, with Dugan actively concealing Flores-Ruiz’s location from law enforcement.
After the ICE agents departed the immediate vicinity, surveillance video shows Flores-Ruiz and his attorney exiting through a restricted door typically reserved for jury members.
This private exit provided Flores-Ruiz with an alternative route out of the courthouse, bypassing the main areas where federal agents were positioned.
The video documentation continues as one federal agent follows Flores-Ruiz into an elevator and tracks his movement as he leaves the courthouse building.
Surveillance footage then captures Flores-Ruiz running north for nearly an entire city block before ICE agents successfully apprehended him.
The New York Post reported that Milwaukee County released the video evidence through an open records request, providing clear documentation of the sequence of events that led to federal charges against Dugan.
Federal prosecutors arrested Judge Dugan one week following the April 18 incident, filing a criminal complaint detailing her alleged interference with federal law enforcement operations.
A federal grand jury reviewed the evidence and found probable cause to proceed with the case, resulting in Dugan’s formal indictment on May 13.
Dugan’s defense attorneys filed a motion seeking dismissal of all charges, arguing that judicial immunity protects her actions as official court business.
The judge entered a not guilty plea to all federal charges on May 15 and remains scheduled for a pretrial hearing on July 9.
Court records indicate Dugan’s jury trial will commence on July 21, where federal prosecutors will present their evidence of obstruction charges.
Flores-Ruiz remains detained in federal custody on immigration violations while his separate domestic violence case continues in Milwaukee County Court.
The domestic battery charges against Flores-Ruiz involve three separate incidents.
Federal prosecutors filed additional charges against Flores-Ruiz for allegedly returning to the United States illegally following his 2013 deportation.
Immigration records show that Flores-Ruiz was previously removed from the United States over a decade ago, making his presence in the country a federal immigration violation.
Resist the Mainstream previously reported that Dugan was a finalist for the “Most Trusted Public Official” award in 2021, but she lost the coveted title to retired Judge Derek Mosely.
The award, which was determined by a public vote, was presented by the Shepherd Express, a local media outlet known for its liberal political stance.
Dugan began law career at Legal Action of Wisconsin.
She later worked for Legal Aid.
Dugan described in a 2000 interview the growing intimidation her clients felt toward law enforcement and the justice system.
She first ran for judge in 2012 but lost. She ran again in 2016 and won, securing a seat on the bench.
She was reelected in 2022.
