And Then They Came for the Judges
Tyranny doesn't happen all once, it rolls out step by step.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested a county judge “on charges of obstructing immigration agents by steering an undocumented immigrant through a side door in her courtroom while the agents waited in a public hallway to apprehend him” according to the New York Times.
Also according to the NYT, the FBI officers possessed an administrative warrant but did not have a judicial warrant authorizing them to arrest the person they were seeking. Read why that matters here.
The individual in question, a citizen of Mexico named Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, was in court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to face misdemeanor criminal charges. In a now-deleted post on X, FBI Director Kash Patel bragged, “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.”
Whatever you think about Judge Dugan’s action, taking a judge into custody in a courthouse is a dramatic escalation in immigration enforcement, in undermining the constitutional separation of powers, and in eroding the rule of law. And for the record: so is arresting an immigrant when he is complying with a legal requirement to appear in court.
This will be a developing story, with more details to emerge about the individual (who was eventually arrested outside of the courthouse), what ICE does with him, and how the judiciary reacts to this latest overreach by the executive branch.
But when they start arresting judges, we already know that we’ve entered a whole new level of authoritarianism.
Some relevant links:
Wisconsin Judge Charged With Obstructing Immigration Agents (New York Times)
The FBI’s Charging Document (reprinted in the New York Times)
Patel says FBI arrests Milwaukee-area judge for obstruction in immigration case (Politico)
FBI arrests a Milwaukee judge accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities (AP)
Federal Agents Arrest State Judge (Immigration Law Unhinged -
)
JFC. A friend mentioned that she keeps a mental list of heroes - people and institutions standing up against the regime, and I remembered that I kept a mental list of heroes that I called the Bitchilante Justice League. Judge Dugan is definitely in the Justice League. Her courage to stand up for what is right and just is exactly what we need. Everyone should be doing this.