by Paris Apodaca
A former Wisconsin judge received only a $5,000 fine after a jury found her guilty of helping illegal immigrants evade federal agents.
The jury found former Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan guilty of obstruction with the judge fining her $5,000 determined Wednesday during sentence hearing, according to Spectrum News 1.
Dugan spoke for the first time during the trials explaining that she upheld “decorum” and “safety,” aspects that the “public deserves,” the outlet reported.
Dugan’s defense team used character witnesses to demonstrate that Dugan acted as a good public servant and Christian by helping illegal immigrants, according to Spectrum News 1. “I am a public servant who’s just trying to do my job.”
She was also a member of left-wing groups including the League of Women Voters, the Milwaukee Turners and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as well as a chapter leader of Catholic Charities, a group known for its pro-immigration stance.
Dugan (pictured above) resigned in January after Republican lawmakers prepared impeachment.
Dugan’s defense team and Judge Lynn Adelman didn’t immediately respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
“Former Wisconsin state judge Hannah Dugan betrayed her oath and the people she served when she obstructed federal law enforcement during an immigration enforcement operation,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote in a December 2025 post to X. “Today, a federal jury of her peers found her guilty and sent a clear message: the American people respect law and order.”
Prosecutors said Dugan confronted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and FBI agents outside her courtroom protecting and leading 31-year-old Mexican national Eduardo Flores-Ruiz to a private jury door, but agents followed him outside arresting him.
Border Patrol agents has already arrested Flores-Ruiz prior in Nogales, Ariz., sending him to Mexico, DCNF reported.
ICE removed Flores-Ruiz on November 13, 2025, according to a Homeland Security Press Release.
In reaction to the news, Rep. Scott Fitzgerald said, “Dugan helped an illegal alien evade arrest by ICE.”
“She was convicted of felony obstruction, yet received only a $5,000 fine and avoided any prison time,” he said. “Absolutely outrageous. A slap on the wrist for someone who abused the power of her office and failed to uphold the law.”
Mike Davis, president of the Article III Project, said, “She faced a recommended prison sentence of 15 to 21 months in prison, with a 60-month maximum. Shamefully, former Democrat politician and current Clinton Judge Lynn Adelman, gave her NO JAIL TIME. These Democrat judges–politicians and criminals in robes–prove once again they protect their own.”
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Paris Apodaca is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
Photo “Judge Hannah Dugan” by Judge Hannah Dugan.
