Let's Talk About Hannah Dugan, and a Judiciary That's Out of Control

By Rich Kozlovich

 

There's been a big uproar over Wisconsin state judge Hannah Dugan over her being arrested by the federal government for her complicity in aiding and abetting the escape or an illegal alien, one with a criminal record.  

First, unlike some claims ICE didn't' barge into her courtroom.  They waited in the hall for the case before Dugan and this criminal to be over before arresting him.  When she found out she huffed and puffed he way out into the hall and chastising them demanding what right they had to arrest this man without an arrest warrant, and to gain time to aid his escape:

......she instructed the agents to obtain a judicial warrant for Ruiz's arrest, which bought time, ultimately leading to the great escape. Federal agents later caught Ruiz, and Judge Dugan was arrested later.

An administrative warrant isn't the same as an arrest warrant.  But, when observing someone committing a crime the police are arresting people daily without a warrant, and if someone is here illegally, by their very presence they're committing a crime, in point of fact, a felony, and since she helped him to escape, that's a crime, and it's punishable by law:

Per 8 U.S.C. § 1324:........(1)(A) Any person who—.........(iii) knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that an alien has come to, entered, or remains in the United States in violation of law, conceals, harbors, or shields from detection, or attempts to conceal, harbor, or shield from detection, such alien in any place, including any building or any means of transportation;.........shall be punished as provided in subparagraph (B).

According to subparagraph (B), the consequences are steep: Since Dugan presumably acted not for financial gain, which could mean up to 10 years in prison, but for other reasons (e.g., fighting imaginary “Nazis”), she faces fines or up to five years in prison, or both.

April 28, 2025 by Silvio Canto, Jr. writes instead of enforcing the nation's laws judges are acting like immigration activists.  Through their decisions and actions they are in effect writing de facto new immigration "laws".  Unwritten laws based on their personal morality.  Laws no legislature in the nation ever passed.  And in Wisconsin Hannah Dugan isn't an anomaly, she's part of a philosophical cabal, as another Milwaukee County judge joins rebellion.  After all, these laws were written by some old white guys in some dusty old document from the 18th century, and they're far more noble and far wiser being guided by a higher cause.  So, in the universal leftist mind set, that justifies viewing laws actually passed by Congress as meaningless, and can be ignored, and even usurped.   Isn't that a form of insurrection?  Just a thought.

 

Only the Trump administration disagrees.  AG Bondi intends to prosecute these judges who are in violation federal law in their attempt to obstruct the efforts of the Trump administration.  And she needs to look at the governors of these states also.

What's been the reaction from the left? While touting the phrase, “no one is above the law", which no Democrat really believes when it comes to .... well.... Democrats, and those criminals they wish to protect.  Dem Rep. Moore says a judge’s control is ‘bigger, and that “jurists ought to be able to have control of their courtroom, and localities should not be pressured into executing and assisting ICE, and I think that’s the bigger question.”   What a load of clabber, and when asked if Judge Dugan should be required to follow the law she evades answering with more clabber:

“Well, you know what, this is not fair to ask me that question, because she has not had her day in court yet to litigate and to defend herself vigorously, which I think she will do. What you’re asking me to do is…to sort of not go along with what I believe is — because I think that ICE ought to operate and they ought to do it clearly, outside of her — not outside her courtroom, but maybe on the street, where they arrested him on the street was the appropriate place. They should not even have been in the courthouse as far as I’m concerned. And so, to say that they can arrest you in the cafeteria of the hospital, but not in your hospital room, this is slicing and dicing it in such a way where the Justice Department is determined to intimidate the judiciary. And I think that we need to fight back.”

It's interesting, that's not the way they viewed the staged arrests by the FBI of Trump supporters in recent years with swat team early morning arrests of totally non-violent old men forcing a hand cuffed perp walk with the Pravda media there waiting to film it.    

 

Milwaukee’s mayor, Cavalier Johnson, says it's just wrong for Trump to enforce the law and to  scare innocent illegal aliens, implying what Dugan did was the right thing to do.   Did he actually say "innocent illegal aliens"?  If they're here illegally, they're not innocent, they're criminals.  

It appears the entire body of government in Wisconsin is infected with this insanity, as Wisconsin Rep.: Dugan says, what Hannah Dugan did is "what all of us will be called to do in the days and weeks and months to come, and it’s standing up for people in our community that are being targeted by the Trump regime”, and Wisconsin's lawless governor issues guidelines to shield illegal aliens from ICE agents. 

Democrats chose a hill to die on—they will defend the last violent, human-trafficking Central American gangbanger escape from ICE no matter what the cost. According to documents leaked by conservative radio host Dan O'Donnell, a Department of Administration (DOA) memo dated April 18 lays out explicit steps for Wisconsin state workers to follow when ICE agents arrive at government buildings. Instead of cooperating with federal immigration enforcement, employees are being told to stonewall — refuse to answer questions, deny access to files, and even demand agents leave if no attorney is available.

What about Democrat governors around the nation?  Arizona Gov. Hobbs has vetoed a  bill that requires the police to cooperate with ICE, which matters little because there's federal law that requires state law enforcement to cooperate, and at some point I'm convinced the Trump administration will start invoking and enforcing that law, which means legislators, governors, and law enforcement people might be arrested.   Governors like Illinois Governor JB Pritzker who declares “The State of Illinois will Stand Up for the Rule of Law”.

Then we have that giant intellect, Chris Christie, who says while Judge Dugan over stepped her bounds, but she shouldn't be put in jail.  Over stepped her bounds? So that's what it's called with someone helps criminals to escape law enforcement?  Remarkable!

 

Then there's Judge Andrew Napolitano, who went over to the dark side years ago, says Trump overreached with this arrest, calling it a, ‘Jihad Against Judges’, decrying administrative warrants, and saying he thinks this judge has immunity.  Well, that's not a universal view, and apparently she also thinks she's not immune since Dugan has added a former Bush solicitor general to her high priced defense team.  Who's funding that?

Jonathan Turley seems to think it's "out-of-control judges, not FBI, appear to have crossed 'red line', and a black robe doesn't make one immune from the rule of law".   A Yale law professor thinks the arrest is legitimate.  The Wisconsin state Supreme Court, a very liberal court, has temporarily pulled this judge from the bench, with former Governor Scott Walker saying:  "It is time for the members of the Wisconsin State Legislature to vote to remove her from office."

The complaint is the Trump administration is doing this to send a message.  Good, and in point of fact, Congress Should Expand Scope of Expedited Removals to Include Mass Deportation.

As for calling this arrest a "jihad against the judiciary", here's who threw down the gauntlet.  

1. 220 lawsuits in 100 Days: Trump Administration Faces Unprecedented Legal Blitz
2. Biden-Appointed Judge Blocks Border Patrol from Arresting Suspected Illegal Aliens Without Warrants    
3. Exclusive—Reps. Jim Jordan & Brian Mast: Rogue Judges Are Out to Stop Trump’s America First Agenda 
4. Another Stops Trump from Ending Taxpayer-Funded Lawyers for Migrants

This is a battle that's been long overdue, and now that gauntlet has been picked up by an administration willing to do battle.  

One more thing.  It's long past time former Biden and Obama administration officials faced the consequences for the crimes they committed while in office, including Mayorkas! For murder.