Local elected officials, faith leaders and immigrant advocates called Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan’s arrest the beginning of a constitutional crisis and framed it as a defining moment in U.S. history.
Her supporters pled for felony charges to be dropped at a press conference outside the county courthouse April 28, where Dugan was arrested by federal authorities April 25 for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant avoid arrest after he appeared in her courtroom.
In a brief interview with the Journal Sentinel before the press conference, Milwaukee County Board first vice-chair Steven Shea asserted the Trump administration intentionally cracked down on a judge in Wisconsin, the “most purple of states.”
“They could not have picked a worse possible judge, because she will stand up for the constitution, due process, the rule of law, every step of the way,” Shea said.
Dugan’s arrest has reached news outlets like BBC and The Irish Times, and it should be considered international news, Shea said. “This is a pivotal moment in American history.”
Other speakers during the hour-long press conference, including state Sen. Tim Carpenter, D-Milwaukee, called Dugan’s arrest a sign of a constitutional crisis in which the Trump administration is no longer respecting the checks and balances of the judicial branch.
“When they went ahead and put the handcuffs on our good friend Hannah Dugan, they put handcuffs on the judiciary,” Carpenter said.
Republicans in Wisconsin signaled they may act to remove Dugan through an impeachment proceeding. Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August, R-Walworth, said charges against Dugan are “serious, deeply troubling, and strike at the core of public trust.”
“I would advise everyone to cooperate with federal law enforcement and not endanger them and the public by obstructing their efforts to arrest criminals and illegal aliens,” U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said previously in a statement to the Journal Sentinel.
More: Politicians, lawyers and more react to arrest of Judge Hannah Dugan
Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, said he texted Dugan Monday and she responded that she’s “doing okay.” Larson described Dugan as soft-spoken, Catholic-adhering and “the person who’s going to bring the best dish at the potluck.” He said she sends celebratory emails on Constitution Day and Bill of Rights Day.
Dugan, 65, is scheduled for a May 15 preliminary hearing. Her case will eventually go before a grand jury. As of April 28, Dugan’s cases are being handled by David Feiss, a reserve judge and former prosecutor in Milwaukee County.
The two charges against Dugan — obstructing a U.S. agency and concealing an individual to prevent an arrest — carry a maximum penalty of six years in prison and a $350,000 fine, though sentences in nonviolent offenses are usually much shorter.
More: Read the charges against Judge Dugan, arrested by FBI in ICE case
More: What’s next in Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan’s case?
