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A Wisconsin judge who obstructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in her courthouse, allowing an illegal alien to escape custody, has resigned following her conviction.
A letter from Milwaukee Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan to Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers was shared on X.
In her letter, Dugan said the citizens of Wisconsin “deserve to start the year with a judge on the bench in Milwaukee County Branch 31.”
“As you know, I am the subject of unprecedented federal legal proceedings, which are far from concluded but which present immense and complex challenges that threaten the independence of our judiciary,” Dugan said.
“I am pursuing this fight for myself and for our independent judiciary. However, the Wisconsin citizens that I cherish deserve to start the year with a judge on the bench in Milwaukee County Branch 31 rather than have the fate of that Court rest in a partisan fight in the state legislature.”
Dugan said it was “with a heavy heart” that she was submitting “this letter of resignation.”
“My faith in God and in our legal system leads me to trust that in the long run justice will be served for our independent judiciary and for me.”
Dugan was convicted of felony obstruction of federal agents in mid-December. She potentially faces five years in prison; although as a first-time offender, she is unlikely to be sent to jail.
In April, Dugan showed 31-year-old Mexican national Eduardo Flores-Ruiz a back door so he could evade immigration agents seeking his arrest. She belaboured the agents by telling them they needed a judicial warrant to arrest their man.
After fleeing the courthouse, Flores-Ruiz ran from ICE officers who chased him down and made an arrest despite the judge’s attempts to help him escape.
In November, DHS announced the illegal alien was deported after pleading “no contest” for battery in county court.
