JUST IN: Judge Accused Of Hiding Illegal Alien From ICE Suffers Massive Legal Setback

A federal judge on Tuesday denied a motion to dismiss criminal charges against Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan, who is accused of smuggling an illegal alien out of her courtroom through a side door in order to obstruct federal immigration agents.

Dugan’s attorneys had filed to dismiss the case earlier this summer, arguing that the prosecution violated judicial immunity and represented federal overreach. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman issued a 27-page order denying Dugan’s motion.

Dugan was arrested last back in April after being accused of obstruction of justice for allegedly concealing Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an illegal alien who was implicated in a vicious assault, from arrest following a pre-trial detention hearing. The judge, who has been on the Milwaukee County bench for nearly a decade, faces a maximum of up to 10 years in prison if convicted on both counts laid out in the indictment.

Footage of the incident shows Dugan, dressed in her black robes, speaking to federal agents who were attending a pre-trial detention hearing in order to take Flores-Ruiz into custody.

The April 18 footage, which was released by Milwaukee County through an open records request, shows agents walking down a hallway after being directed through a door by Judge Dugan. This, according to federal prosecutors, indicates that Dugan was attempting to distract the agents as they were attempting to make the arrest.

At the same time, the video shows Flores-Ruiz and his attorney exiting the courtroom through a restricted exit typically used by jurors shortly after ICE agents left the building. One federal agent could be seen following Flores-Ruiz as he entered an elevator and later left the building, the footage also shows.

Flores-Ruiz was later seen running for about a block before he was apprehended by ICE agents.

Judge Dugan was arrested a week later, according to a criminal complaint, and was indicted by a grand jury on May 13. Her attorneys filed the motion to dismiss the case, citing judicial immunity, not long after.

Adelman’s ruling on Tuesday brings the case much closer to proceeding to trial. In his order, he cited the report of U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Joseph several times, who had advised against granting the motion to dismiss.

“There is no basis for granting immunity simply because some of the allegations in the indictment describe conduct that could be considered ‘part of a judge’s job,’” Adelman wrote. “As the magistrate judge noted, the same is true in the bribery prosecutions, concededly valid, where the judges were prosecuted for performing official acts intertwined with bribery.”

Adelman gave Dugan’s attorneys until September 3 to appeal his order. If an appeal is indeed filed, Dugan’s trial will likely not begin until 2026.