The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) operatives on Friday, April 25, 2025, arrested a United States judge, Hannah Dugan, for allegedly shielding an undocumented migrant.
This escalated a struggle between the White House and the courts over United States President Donald Trump’s hardline deportation policies.
Dugan, a Milwaukee County circuit judge “intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject” they were intending to detain at her courthouse, FBI director Kash Patel said on Friday.
She was arrested on charges of obstruction, Patel added,
“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.
The Trump-appointed director deleted his post minutes after it appeared, but later reposted it.
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The incident has set off a torrent of criticism by Democrats and applause by some Republicans.
Pam Bondi, who as U.S. attorney general oversees the FBI, defended the arrest of Dugan, and issued a chilling warning to those who may harbor illegal aliens: “We will find you.”
Bondi said: “We’re sending a very strong message today.
“If you are harboring a fugitive, we don’t care who you are, if you are helping hide one… anyone who is illegally in this country – we will come after you and we will prosecute you.”
The Trump administration has dug in its heels over deportation cases in which legal experts and Democrats say residents are being expelled without due process, AFP reported.
The White House has defied the Supreme Court’s ruling that the administration must “facilitate” the return of a Maryland resident who was deported to a maximum security prison in El Salvador.
Bondi said the man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, is “not coming back” to the United States.
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