The FBI arrested a judge in the Midwestern US state of Wisconsin on Friday for allegedly helping an undocumented migrant avoid arrest from immigration officers, according to a since-deleted social media post by FBI Director Kash Patel.
"Just NOW, the FBI arrested Judge Hannah Dugan out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin on charges of obstruction-after evidence of Judge Dugan obstructing an immigration arrest operation last week," Patel posted on X Friday morning.
Patel added that his office believed Dugan had "intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject to be arrested in her courthouse," then deleted the post shortly thereafter.
Dugan is a Milwaukee County circuit court judge, which is an elected position. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel daily reported that the FBI was investigating Dugan earlier this week and that she told the newspaper "nearly every fact regarding the 'tips' in your email is accurate."
The arrest of a state judge exemplifies the escalation in the Trump administration's battle with the US judicial system over the White House's aggressive immigration enforcement policies.
Critics say the anti-immigrant push is ignoring legal requirements such as due process and is targeting law-abiding immigrants rather than the criminals candidate Donald Trump vowed on the campaign trail to deport.
The Justice Department had previously signaled that it intended to crack down on local judges who did not comply with federal immigration efforts.
In January, department officials ordered federal prosecutors to investigate state or local officials who they believe are interfering with the Trump administration's immigrant crackdown.
