A judge in the US state of Wisconsin has been charged for allegedly helping a Mexican man evade immigration officials through a back door during an arrest attempt.
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested in April. Now a federal grand jury has approved the two charges against her, which could see the judge face a prison term.
It marks a further escalation of Donald Trump’s sweeping crackdown on immigration, and has provoked an outcry from Democrats, who accuse the Trump administration of attacking the judicial system.
Judge Dugan’s defence lawyers responded with a one-sentence statement saying that she maintains her innocence and looks forward to being vindicated in court.
On 18 April, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a Mexican national facing three misdemeanour battery counts, appeared in the Milwaukee court for a scheduled hearing.
Six officers from the FBI, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) and the Drug Enforcement Agency were at the court to arrest him.
According to an FBI affidavit, the Judge Dugan became “visibly angry commented that the situation was ‘absurd,’ left the bench, and entered chambers” when she learned of their presence.
After an argument in the hallway over the type of arrest warrant that had been issued, Judge Dugan told the officers to report to the chief judge, and while they were there, the affidavit says, she ushered Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer to a side door meant for jury members.
But they were seen by two agents.
Flores-Ruiz, who authorities say had previously been deported from the US in 2013, managed to exit the courthouse but was arrested just minutes later after a short foot chase.
Credit: bbc.com
