A Wisconsin judge is threatening not to hold court in protest of federal authorities arresting her fellow judge Hannah Dugan last week.
Judge Monica Isham made the announcement in an email to judges across the state on Saturday. Her email, titled “Guidance Requested or I Refuse to Hold Court,” made clear she had no intention of working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“If there is no guidance for us and no support for us, I will refuse to hold court in Branch 2 in Sawyer County. I will not put myself or my staff who may feel compelled to help me or my community in harms way,” Isham wrote.
“I have no intention of allowing anyone to be taken out of my courtroom by ICE and sent to a concentration camp, especially without due process, as BOTH of the constitutions we swore to support require. Should I start raising bail money?” Isham wrote, referring to the Wisconsin state constitution as well.
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“If this costs me my job or gets me arrested then at least I know I did the right thing,” she added.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon reacted to Isham’s ultimatum on social media, saying the threat was “problematic.”
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Dugan was arrested and charged with obstruction of an official proceeding on Friday after evidence came to light that she had shielded the migrant from ICE agents, according to a criminal complaint. She was also charged with concealing an individual to prevent discovery and arrest.
Federal agents from ICE, FBI, CBP and DEA attempted to arrest the undocumented male – Mexican national Eduardo Flores-Ruiz – following his scheduled criminal court appearance before Dugan on April 18 to face three misdemeanor battery charges for allegedly beating two people.
Dugan demanded that the officers proceed to the chief judge’s office and – after his hearing ended – escorted Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a restricted jury door, bypassing the public area where agents were waiting in order to help him avoid arrest, per the complaint.
Dugan has worked with legal aid organizations and as executive director of Catholic Charities in the past. She was elected to Branch 31 of the Circuit Court in 2016 and ran unopposed in the 2022 election. She primarily oversees cases in its misdemeanor division, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Fox News’ Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
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