(The Center Square) – A federal grand jury indicted a Wisconsin judge Tuesday, the charges being helping shield a person illegally in the country from federal immigration officials at the Milwaukee County Courthouse.
Federal prosecutors charged Judge Hannah Dugan with obstruction of a federal proceeding and concealing an individual to prevent discovery or arrest.
The obstruction charge could result in up to a $100,000 fine and a year in prison, while the second concealment charge can result in up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Dugan’s defense team released a statement saying the judge maintains her innocence and looks forward to proving it in court, according to published reports.
Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Lindsay Schloemer wrote in the complaint against Dugan that law enforcement often makes arrests at the courthouse because “not only the fact that law enforcement knows the location at which the wanted individual should be located but also the fact that the wanted individual would have entered through a security checkpoint and thus unarmed, minimizing the risk of injury to law enforcement, the public, and the wanted individual.”
The Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended Dugan, saying it was in the public interest to temporarily relieve her of duties.
Dugan is accused of concealing Eduardo Flores Ruiz, who was previously deported and came back to the U.S., where he was facing charges in Milwaukee of domestic battery and abuse.
