A Wisconsin judge resigned Saturday after a federal jury convicted her of helping an illegal immigrant evade arrest inside a Milwaukee courthouse. Hannah Dugan submitted her resignation to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers as Republican lawmakers prepared impeachment proceedings, the Associated Press reported.
A spokesperson for Evers confirmed the governor received the letter and said he will move quickly to fill the vacancy. A federal jury convicted Dugan of felony obstruction on Dec. 19.
Prosecutors said Dugan confronted immigration officers outside her courtroom in April and escorted 31-year-old Mexican national Eduardo Flores Ruiz through a private jury door while agents waited nearby.
Officers had arrived at the Milwaukee County courthouse to arrest Flores Ruiz, who had reentered the country illegally and was facing a state battery charge.
Dugan told agents their administrative warrant did not authorize the arrest and directed them to speak with the chief judge.
After the officers left, she escorted Flores Ruiz and his attorney through a rear exit.
Agents later spotted him in the hallway, chased him outside, and arrested him.
Federal officials deported Flores Ruiz in November.
In her resignation letter, Dugan called the prosecution “unprecedented” and said it posed “immense and complex challenges that threaten the independence of our judiciary.”
Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos praised the decision.
“I’m glad Dugan did the right thing by resigning and followed the clear direction from the Wisconsin Constitution,” Vos said.
Democrat Ann Jacobs, chair of the Wisconsin Elections Commission board, defended Dugan in a social media post.
“Despite her situation, she is ever the champion of justice, wanting to remove the judiciary from a political battle over her fate,” Jacobs wrote.
In January, a federal jury found Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan guilty of obstructing federal immigration agents during an attempt to serve an arrest warrant at a courthouse earlier this year. Dugan was convicted on a felony obstruction charge but acquitted on a separate misdemeanor count of concealing an individual to prevent arrest.
The verdict followed approximately six hours of jury deliberations in federal court in Milwaukee, Fox News reported. Dugan now faces up to five years in prison on the felony charge, though a sentencing date has not yet been set.
The case stems from an April 18 incident involving Eduardo Flores Ruiz, an undocumented immigrant who was scheduled to appear in Dugan’s courtroom on an unrelated misdemeanor domestic assault charge.
Federal prosecutors said Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were present in the courthouse that day to arrest Flores Ruiz on an immigration warrant for illegal reentry into the United States.
According to court filings and trial testimony, Dugan became aware that plainclothes ICE agents were inside the building and attempting to locate Flores Ruiz.
Prosecutors alleged that Dugan confronted the agents in a hallway outside her courtroom, questioned the legitimacy of their warrant, and told them to speak with the chief judge before proceeding.
The government argued that this interaction delayed the agents and interfered with their efforts to carry out the arrest.
Prosecutors further alleged that after the hallway encounter, Dugan informed Flores Ruiz’s attorney of the ICE presence and helped the attorney and defendant exit the courtroom through a private back door normally reserved for jurors.
Flores Ruiz was later spotted by agents inside the courthouse and arrested outside the building following a brief foot pursuit.
He was subsequently deported after pleading guilty to illegally reentering the United States and resolving the underlying misdemeanor charge.
During the trial, Dugan’s defense team argued that she was acting within her judicial role and following courthouse protocols, not intentionally obstructing law enforcement.
Defense attorneys claimed Dugan was attempting to maintain courtroom order and ensure the safety of those present, not shield Flores Ruiz from arrest.
The jury ultimately rejected that argument on the felony obstruction count while acquitting her on the concealment charge.