Federal agents arrested a Wisconsin judge on Friday after she allegedly helped an undocumented immigrant evade arrest, FBI Director Kash Patel said.
Patel announced in an X post that Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan has been charged with obstruction.
The tweet was quickly deleted. The FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment on why the post was removed.
But a senior law enforcement official confirmed to NBC News that Dugan was arrested at about 8:30 a.m. local time in the parking lot of her courthouse for allegedly assisting an undocumented immigrant in avoiding arrest after he appeared in her courtroom last week.
Dugan is in custody pending her planned presentment later Friday in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee.
Patel wrote that the FBI believes Dugan “intentionally misdirected federal agents away” from Eduardo Flores Ruiz as agents were attempting to arrest him at her courthouse.
“Thankfully our agents chased down the perp on foot and he’s been in custody since, but the Judge’s obstruction created increased danger to the public,” Patel said in the post.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Tuesday that the FBI was looking into Dugan’s conduct surrounding an attempted arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at her courthouse on April 18.
ICE did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. A person who answered a call to Dugan’s chambers declined to comment.
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