On April 25, 2025, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested by the FBI for allegedly assisting an undocumented immigrant evade ICE arrest. Demonstrators rallied against what they viewed as baseless charges of felony obstruction, arguing this incident exemplifies executive overreach and intimidation tactics against the judiciary. Notably, commentators emphasized the arrest's unprecedented nature, with Wisconsin state Rep. Ryan Clancy underscoring the judiciary's role as a check on executive power. Protesters voiced support for Dugan, highlighting broader concerns about immigrant rights and judicial independence under the Trump administration.
"I have never heard of a state court judge being arrested by the federal government because she chose to control her own courtroom. This is unprecedented," Sara Dady, an immigration attorney who traveled more than 90 miles from Rockford, Illinois to attend the demonstration outside the FBI field office in Milwaukee, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
"The judiciary acts as a check to unchecked executive power. And functioning democracies do not lock up judges," Wisconsin state Rep. Ryan Clancy (D-19) told the crowd.
"I hope that we can all be as brave as Judge Dugan was," Clancy added.
The arrest signals that Trump is 'ramping up a campaign of intimidation against the judicial branch,' one critic noted.
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