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MILWAUKEE, WI (WSAU) – A Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge is reportedly under federal investigation after allegedly helping an illegal migrant hide from FBI and ICE agents who had come to the courthouse to make the arrest.
According to sources who spoke to radio host Dan O’Donnell, the alleged incident happened last Friday morning when the clerk for Judge Hannah Dugan had been informed that federal agents had entered the courthouse and were planning to arrest the suspect in question. She then allegedly allowed the illegal migrant to hide in her jury room, which traditionally is not open for defendant use.
Chief Judge Carl Ashley allowed the agents to enter Dugan’s courtroom after he was presented with a warrant to enter the building and arrest the suspect, which led them to learning of Judge Dugan’s alleged obstruction.
The sources told O’Donnell that Chief Ashley sent an email to his fellow judges explaining the incident and said, “All of the agents’ actions were consistent with our draft policies, but we’re still in the process of conferring on the draft,” to which Judge Dugan responded by claiming that a warrant wasn’t “presented in the hallway of the 6th floor,” where her courtroom is located.
Fellow Milwaukee County Judge and former Democratic State Assembly member Marisabel Cabrera also responded to the email that she would not comply with ICE warrants due to them being unconstitutional in her view.
There can be severe consequences for lying to or obstructing a federal officer: According to federal law, specifically 18 USC § 1001, willfully and knowingly fabricating information in connection with a federal law enforcement investigation is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, or up to eight years if terrorism is involved.
This comes as a memo from Gov. Tony Evers’s Department of Administration was sent to government employees informing them that they can help illegal migrants avoid arrest by federal agents by refusing to “answer questions, including when an agent asks about someone you know or presents a warrant with an individual’s name.” The memo further instructs government employees to deny the agents access to “any paper files or computer systems without speaking to your attorney, including when the agent presents a warrant.”
Neither the FBI nor ICE has provided an official statement on the matter at this time.
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