Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan, who was arrested Friday for helping an illegal migrant avoid capture by federal agents, may be facing an extended absence from the bench.
ABC reported that\has assigned a "reserve" judge to Dugan's caseload. The reserve judge, who was not named in the statement released to the media, began handling Dugan's cases Monday morning.
Dugan was arrested by federal agents on Friday and charged with assisting an illegal migrant from being captured by federal agents at the county courthouse. "Just NOW, the FBI arrested Judge Hannah Dugan out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin on charges of obstruction — after evidence of Judge Dugan obstructing an immigration arrest operation last week," FBI Director Kash Patel wrote Friday in a since-deleted post on X.
Judge Dugan appeared in court following the arrest and was released on her own recognizance. The next court appearance for Dugan was set for May 15.
The government's long document spells out the charges against the judge, including hiding an individual to prevent an arrest by federal agents and obstructing a federal agency. The potential penalties could be as much as a six-year prison term and fines of $350,000.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that there was a protest in the city staged on behalf of the judge on Saturday.
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