Who Is Hannah Dugan? US Judge Accused Of Helping Man Evade Immigration Authorities

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Hannah Dugan, a Milwaukee judge, was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Friday while on her way to work at the Milwaukee County courthouse. She was accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities. She appeared briefly in federal court later Friday before being released.

Why was Hannah Dugan arrested?

According to the Associated Press, Dugan was accused of escorting the man and his lawyer out of her courtroom through the jury door last week (April 18) after learning that immigration authorities were seeking his arrest.

The man was taken into custody outside the courthouse after agents chased him on foot.

Dugan was taken into custody by the FBI on Friday morning on the courthouse grounds, US Marshals Service spokesperson Brady McCarron was quoted by AP as saying.

She appeared briefly in federal court in Milwaukee later Friday before being released from custody. She faced charges of“concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest” and obstructing or impeding a proceeding.

FBI Director Kash Patel announced the move via social media, saying Dugan“increased danger to the public.”

Who is Hannah Dugan?

Hannah Dugan is known for running a strict courtroom while also being a familiar face in the community, particularly at interfaith events, the Associated Press reported.

“She is always at every parade on behalf of the judges. She is at interfaith events. Her faith is very important to her,” said Ann Jacobs, a personal injury plaintiff attorney and Democratic chair of the Wisconsin Elections Commission.

She is said to be a longtime Milwaukee public figure. Dugan has been a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge since defeating an incumbent appointee of former Republican Gov. Scott Walker in 2016. She ran unopposed in 2022, and her current term expires in 2028.

Tom Barrett, a former congressman and mayor of Milwaukee for 17 years, said he was friends with Dugan's older sister in high school and has known Dugan, 65, since she was 12.

“As a person and a judge, she always tries to do the right thing, and she cares deeply about the community and people and justice,” Barrett was quoted by the Associated Press as saying.

Dugan previously was a litigation attorney and held administrative posts at Legal Action of Wisconsin Inc. and Legal Aid Society Inc. According to her LinkedIn page, legal areas she focused on as an attorney were older people and disabilities, civil rights, domestic abuse and others.

Dugan was president of the Milwaukee Bar Association from 1999 to 2000. She also worked three years as executive director of Catholic Charities of Southeastern Wisconsin Inc.

A 1981 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she also received her law degree in 1987, Dugan has taught law and graduate students at Marquette University in Milwaukee.

Attorneys call the judge a 'stickler' in the courtroom. Attorneys who have appeared before Dugan describe her as extremely tough but fair.

“She is a stickler for procedure,” Milwaukee criminal defense attorney Julius Kim said.“She's fair. I certainly don't think she's a pushover, by any stretch. She's very methodical in her approach.”

She was a finalist in the Most Trusted Public Official category in the 2021 Best of Milwaukee contest in The Shepherd Express, an alternative news source.

Dugan previously found herself involved in a political fight in 2023, when she dismissed a Republican Party lawsuit that argued a Milwaukee get-out-the-vote effort was illegal.

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