Judges Are Slowing Down Trump’s Fascist Deportation Regime. Now He’s Arresting Them For It.
The FBI arrested a sitting judge in a Milwaukee County court in Wisconsin on Friday, claiming that she obstructed immigration enforcement agents from detaining an undocumented immigrant in her courtroom.
Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan’s arrest is not only the latest escalation in Donald Trump’s fascist deportation program, it also marks the administration’s eagerness to take aim at any and all constraints on its power to act.
“We believe Judge Dugan intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject to be arrested in her courthouse,” FBI director Kash Patel in a post on X. Patel added that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents “chased down the perp on foot and he’s been in custody since.”
In the absence of opposition party challenges and disempowered labor, courts are one of the few sites of meaningful pushback on Trump’s agenda.
Archived version: https://archive.is/20250425202345/https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/judge-arrest-trump-immigrants-deport/
Less and less land of the free, more and more home of the brave.
It’s over boys. It’s second amendment or nothing now.
This local judge appeared before a federal magistrate, and was released on her own recognizance, while the feds seek an indictment from a grand jury.
Judges, like anyone, are capable of committing crimes, and they should be held to account when they do.
Having said that, it seems that the facts alleged in this complaint may not really fit the charge of obstruction, but it's not very clear one way or the other. On one hand, this judge allegedly directed ICE's target to exit through a jury room after his court appearance before her. This avoided the trap that ICE had set up in the hallway. On the other hand, she arguably enjoys a high level of deference on how she manages the logistics of her courtroom (such as how various people enter and exit). ICE held an administrative warrant only, which arguably did not entitle them to enter the not-fully-public space of the courtroom (and indeed they did not attempt to). ICE ultimately did arrest their guy outside some 22 minutes later.
My prediction: Assuming this judge properly shuts up and lawyers up, this case quietly fizzles after a while. Of course, DOJ can still accomplish their goal of intimidating the judiciary.
I can tell you’ve got a very analytical mind, and you’re probably NeuroDiverse like all the rest of us here, but I think you’re wrong. The local judge is not gonna go down silently and neither should anyone in that God forsaken 50 state country.
These are all carefully orchestrated steps. Something they can misconstrue later and make sure people support the suspension of the judiciary, and the invoking of Martial law.
Wtf...?
Where did they say the judge was going down? What are you disagreeing with?
They're not saying the judge will go down silently. They're saying the judge will win and nothing will come of it.
I don’t know what you’re trying to prove here
As in "Employs the recommended legal strategy of not saying anything while her lawyers do their job, in order to avoid incrimination." The smartest thing you can say while embroiled in legal trouble is absolutely nothing, that's what your lawyer is for.
Ha