Arrest of Judge is Trump Administration’s Latest Attack on the Rule of Law

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 25, 2025 – This morning, FBI agents arrested Judge Hannah Dugan, a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge, on charges that she interfered with an arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The charging documents do not indicate that Dugan actually did anything that prevented the arrest of the suspect, but that didn’t stop FBI Director Kash Patel from claiming the evidence of her obstruction as fact in a quickly deleted post on social media. The FBI’s claims have also been contradicted by eyewitnesses who were in the courtroom.

Attorney General Pam Bondi later took to Fox News to call Dugan “deranged” and warned all judges that “we’re sending a very strong message today… We will come after you and we will prosecute you. We will find you.” This threat comes after weeks of many Trump administration officials calling for the impeachment of judges, disregarding the power of lower court judges, resisting complying with a Supreme Court directive, and otherwise attempting to undermine the authority of the courts and the rule of law.

Alliance for Justice Interim Co-President Keith Thirion issued the following statement:

“The Trump administration has officially declared war on not just the courts as an institution, but individual judges he does not agree with. This is an unprecedented escalation, jeopardizing the separation of powers and the foundation of our democracy. From all accounts, Judge Dugan was exercising her rightful authority as a judge presiding over a court room and upholding the rule of law. This arrest and the threats that have followed from Attorney General Bondi and others are indefensible. To all the lawmakers, pundits, and other officials who still deny we’re facing a constitutional crisis, it’s time to wake up. They’re arresting judges now, meaning we’re nearing a point in our descent toward full authoritarianism we might not recover from.”