Former New Jersey Superior Court Judge and current Newsmax judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano strongly criticized the Justice Department’s arrest of Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan. Judge Dugan was taken into custody Friday by the FBI, accused of impeding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents attempting to arrest an undocumented migrant in her courtroom.
Napolitano, in a Newsmax appearance, sided firmly with Judge Dugan, questioning the legality and necessity of her arrest. He highlighted the fact that the ICE agents reportedly did not possess a standard arrest warrant, but rather an “administrative warrant.”
“An administrative warrant is not an arrest warrant,” Napolitano asserted. “No judge would recognize an administrative warrant.”
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According to Napolitano’s account, the incident unfolded when ICE agents in plain clothes entered Judge Dugan’s courtroom during a hearing for a defendant facing a “low level assault and battery” charge. Judge Dugan, upon noticing a commotion in the hallway involving the defendant, went to investigate.
“They say ‘We’re here to arrest this guy’ and she basically says ‘Well you’re not going to interrupt with my proceeding. We don’t permit arrests in the courtroom. You can wait in the hallway or you can wait for him outside. Let me see your arrest warrant,'” Napolitano recounted.
He further stated that the ICE agents admitted to not having an arrest warrant, presenting only an administrative warrant, which Napolitano described as “basically one ICE agent authorizing another ICE agent to detain someone.”
The former judge argued that Judge Dugan committed no crime and likely possesses judicial immunity in this situation. “I think she has immunity. She can decide how a person leaves her courtroom,” he stated.
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While acknowledging the federal government’s interest in the “orderly process of arresting people,” Napolitano believes this particular case was mishandled. He criticized the decision to arrest Judge Dugan and the subsequent public display of her in handcuffs, calling it a potential violation of regulations.
Napolitano drew a comparison to white-collar investigations involving public officials, suggesting a less aggressive approach should have been taken. “If there’s an issue in a white collar case with a public official like there was here in New York with Mayor Adams, you don’t stop him on the street and put handcuffs on him, you say to his lawyer ‘We need to talk to you about whether or not you will voluntarily surrender because we’re about to charge you with a crime,'” he explained.
He concluded by suggesting a potential motive behind the arrest, stating, “But because they’re on a bit of a jihad against judges, they decided to make an example out of this.”
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FBI Director Kash Patel initially announced Judge Dugan’s arrest on X, alleging that she “intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject to be arrested in her courthouse, Eduardo Flores Ruiz, allowing the subject — an illegal alien — to evade arrest.” Patel later confirmed that Flores-Ruiz is now in FBI custody.
Chief Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Carl Ashley reportedly sent an email to colleagues confirming ICE agents were at the courthouse on April 18th with an arrest warrant, though the email did not mention Judge Dugan or the FBI investigation.
Judge Dugan made a brief appearance in federal court on Friday and was subsequently released. Her lawyer, Craig Mastantuono, told the court that “Judge Dugan wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest. It was not made in the interest of public safety.”
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