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FBI arrests judge for alleged obstruction of immigration arrest operation – report
The FBI has arrested a Wisconsin judge for allegedly trying to obstruct an immigration operation arrest, FBI director Kash Patel said in a since deleted post on X.
On Friday morning, Patel wrote – then quickly deleted:
“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.
We believe Judge Dugan 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. Thankfully our agents chased down the perp on foot and he’s been in custody since, but the Judge’s obstruction created increased danger to the public.
We will have more to share soon. Excellent work @FBIMilwaukee.”
Officials have yet to identify the defendant but according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the defendant appears to be Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a Mexican immigrant facing three misdemeanor battery counts.
The outlet reports that Flores-Ruiz was in Dugan’s courtroom on 18 April for a scheduling hearing. According to sources speaking to the outlet, Ice arrived at the courtroom that morning and upon going to Dugan’s office, she directed the defendant and his lawyer to a side door in the courtroom, then down a private hallway and into a public area on the 6th floor.
Key events
George Santos given seven-year prison term for fraudulent congressional run
Gloria Oladipo
George Santos, the disgraced former representative, was sentenced to more than seven years in prison on Friday, bringing an end to an extraordinary controversy that began with a fraudulent congressional campaign.
Santos, 36, was sentenced early Friday morning in New York. He did not respond to shouted questions as he entered the courthouse in suburban Long Island.
Shortly before being elected to the US House of Representatives in New York’s third congressional district, Santos was first accused of deceiving voters by the North Shore Leader, a local newspaper in Long Island, who accused Santos of fabricating much of his resumé.
Santos later admitted that he lied to campaign donors and stole the identities of nearly a dozen people to fund his congressional campaign.
His sentencing was not without controversy. Before his Friday court appearance, Santos referred to himself as a “scapegoat” on social media, in reference to prosecutors accusing him of organizing the fraudulent conspiracy.
Santos also alleged that the justice department was a “cabal of pedophiles”, in posts made to X. Prosecutors highlighted Santos’s comments in a filing after Santos’s defense team requested a two-year prison sentence.
The former congressperson later defended his remarks, saying he was “profoundly sorry” for his crimes but that a seven-year prison sentence was too harsh.
“Every sunrise since that plea has carried the same realization: I did this, me. I am responsible,” Santos wrote. “But saying I’m sorry doesn’t require me to sit quietly while these prosecutors try to drop an anvil on my head.”
Politico notes that during Trump’s first presidency, the justice department indicted a local Massachusetts judge on charges of obstructing federal immigration authorities. The charges were later dropped after the judge agreed to refer herself to the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct for possible discipline.
The arrest of a judge is a remarkable escalation in the White House’s battle with the judiciary over Trump’s aggressive agenda to remove undocumented migrants from the US.
In a statement provided to NBC News, White House spokesperson Kush Desai said:
The days of actively aiding and abetting illegal aliens invading our country are over.
The Trump administration will never waver on putting Americans and America First with a no-nonsense approach to immigration enforcement. In this administration, anyone who commits crimes exposes themselves to criminal liability.
Arrested Wisconsin judge reportedly charged with two federal felonies of obstruction and concealing an individual
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that judge Hannah Dugan, who was arrested earlier today by federal authorities, is being charged with two federal felony counts of obstruction and concealing an individual.
Citing two federal sources, the outlet reports that Dugan, 65, was scheduled to appear before US magistrate judge Stephen Dries at 10.30am local time on Friday on the second floor of the federal courthouse in downtown Milwaukee.
Brady McCarron, spokesman for US Marshals Service in Washington DC, confirmed Dugan was arrested at about 8am at the Milwaukee county courthouse and is in federal custody.
Here is the X post that Kash Patel swiftly deleted, via NPR’s Tom Dreisbach, announcing that the FBI arrested Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan for allegedly trying to obstruct an immigration operation arrest last week.
The arrest of Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan is the first publicly known instance of the Trump administration charging a local official for allegedly interfering with immigration enforcement.
Emil Bove, now the justice department’s principal associate deputy attorney general, issued a memo in January calling on prosecutors to pursue criminal cases against local government officials who obstructed the federal government’s immigration enforcement efforts.
And in February, Trump signed an executive order directing agency heads to ensure federal funding wasn’t facilitating illegal immigration or “sanctuary policies that seek to shield illegal aliens from deportation”.
Bove stated in the three-page memo: “Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing, and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands or requests.”
Here’s the extract:
The Supremacy Clause and other authorities require state and local actors to comply with the Executive Branch’s immigration enforcement initiatives. Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing, and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration- related commands and requests pursuant to, for example, the President’s extensive Article Il authority with respect to foreign affairs and national security, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the Alien Enemies Act. The U.S. Attomey’s Offices and litigating components of the Department of Justice shall investigate incidents involving any such misconduct for potential prosecution, including for obstructing federal functions in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371, and violations of other statutes, such as 8 U.S.C. §§ 1324, 1373. Declination decisions with respect 10 resistance, obstruction, or other non-compliance with lawful immigration-related commands and requests from federal authorities shall be disclosed as Urgent Reports pursuant to Justice Manual § 1-13.130.
A US Marshal Service spokesperson has confirmed that Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan was arrested on Friday morning at the courthouse where she works.
The confirmation from the Marshal Service comes shortly after FBI director Kash Patel said in a since deleted X post that federal officials arrested Dugan for allegedly trying to obstruct an immigration operation arrest.
FBI arrests judge for alleged obstruction of immigration arrest operation – report
The FBI has arrested a Wisconsin judge for allegedly trying to obstruct an immigration operation arrest, FBI director Kash Patel said in a since deleted post on X.
On Friday morning, Patel wrote – then quickly deleted:
“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.
We believe Judge Dugan 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. Thankfully our agents chased down the perp on foot and he’s been in custody since, but the Judge’s obstruction created increased danger to the public.
We will have more to share soon. Excellent work @FBIMilwaukee.”
Officials have yet to identify the defendant but according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the defendant appears to be Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a Mexican immigrant facing three misdemeanor battery counts.
The outlet reports that Flores-Ruiz was in Dugan’s courtroom on 18 April for a scheduling hearing. According to sources speaking to the outlet, Ice arrived at the courtroom that morning and upon going to Dugan’s office, she directed the defendant and his lawyer to a side door in the courtroom, then down a private hallway and into a public area on the 6th floor.
Congress is unlikely to support any invasion of Greenland, Denmark’s semi-autonomous territory, House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said.
Speaking to reporters in Copenhagen during a visit by several Congress members, Jeffries said:
“I don’t believe that there is real bipartisan support in the Congress to aggressively move on Greenland … You’ll have to ask our Republican colleagues, but I haven’t seen serious Republican members of Congress weigh in support of the notion that we should somehow invade Greenland.”
He added that the congressional delegation did not discuss increasing US military presence with Danish officials, Reuters reports.
Jeffries’s comments come a month after the US vice-president, JD Vance, visited Greenland during which he criticized Denmark for not being a good ally.
A New York beekeeper who has been in the US for decades has been accused of concealing a leadership role in the genocide in Rwanda in the mid-1990s, prosecutors have said in documents.
The man told federal agents: “I know I’m finished” when he was arrested on Thursday on charges that he hid his past when he applied for for a green card and US citizenship, according to the prosecution in the case.
Faustin Nsabumukunzi, 65, was charged with covering up from US authorities his role as a local leader in Rwanda when the genocide began in 1994. An estimated 800,000 Tutsis were killed during the three-month-long genocide. The indictment of the Bridgehampton man was unsealed in Central Islip on Long Island, the suburban district to the east of New York City.
The Associated Press has some useful background for today’s expected sentencing of indicted fabulist George Santos, who was elected in 2022, flipping a wealthy district representing parts of Queens and Long Island for the GOP.
Soon after his election, it was revealed that the political unknown had fabricated much of his life story, painting himself as a successful business owner who worked at prestigious Wall Street firms and held a valuable real estate portfolio.
In reality, Santos was struggling financially and even faced eviction. The revelations led to congressional and criminal inquiries into how he had funded his campaign.
As his sentencing approached, Santos wrote on X:
I learned that no matter left, right or, center we are all humans and for the most part Americans (LOL) and we have one super power that I cherish and that is compassion. To the trolls… well you guys are an impactful part of how people shape themselves, and y’all made me much stronger and made my skin thicker!
He also made one final plug for his Cameo account, where he records personalized video messages for $100.
“Think ahead and of any celebration or event coming up later this year. Book them today,” Santos wrote, ending the post with a series of heart emojis.
Ex-congressman George Santos faces sentencing for fraud after duping donors and voters
Away from foreign policy for a moment, the disgraced former US representative George Santos, who lied about his life story and defrauded donors, faces sentencing in federal court today.
The New York Republican, who served in Congress for barely a year before being ousted in 2023 by his House colleagues, pleaded guilty last summer to federal wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
He admitted to deceiving donors and stealing the identities of nearly a dozen people, including his family members, to fund his winning campaign. As part of a plea deal, Santos has agreed to pay roughly $580,000 in penalties in addition to prison time.
In a text message on Thursday, the 36-year-old told the Associated Press he was “ready to face the music” in court on Friday.
I’m doing as well as any human being would be doing given the circumstances. I will be in court tomorrow, ready to face the music.
Prosecutors are seeking seven years in federal prison for Santos, arguing in recent court filings that he “remains unrepentant” and has not shown genuine remorse.
They cite recent comments Santos has made on social media in which he casts himself as a victim of prosecutorial overreach.
In a letter to the court this week, Santos stressed that he remains “profoundly sorry” for his crimes but objects to the sentence being sought, which he said is overly harsh.
Santos’s lawyers have called for a two-year prison stint, which is the mandatory minimum sentence for aggravated identity theft.
They argue such a penalty is comparable to sentences handed to former US representative Jesse Jackson Jr and other political figures convicted of similar financial crimes.
As mentioned earlier, negotiations between Iran and the US over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program will return on Saturday to the secluded sultanate of Oman, where the Associated Press reports experts on both sides will start hammering the technical details of any possible deal.
The talks seek to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the US has imposed on Iran closing in on half a century of enmity. Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran’s program if a deal isn’t reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.
Neither Iran nor the US have offered any explanation on why the talks will return to Muscat, the Omani capital. Oman has been a mediator between the countries. Last weekend’s talks in Rome offered a more-equal flight distance between Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and US envoy Steve Witkoff, who are leading the negotiations.
Donald Trump repeats claim he has spoken to Chinese president Xi Jinping but offers no details
Donald Trump claimed again on Friday that he had spoken with Chinese president Xi Jinping but did not say when, adding that he would give details “at the appropriate time”.
Reuters reported Trump’s comments as he spoke to reporters before departing the White House to travel to Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday.
Here is an extract from the Time interview in which Trump once again blames Ukraine for the outbreak of the war, which Russia started when it launched its full-scale invasion, citing its Nato aspirations.
[Trump] may more likely be remembered for having broken with decades of foreign policy embraced by Republican and Democratic Presidents, alienating NATO allies, and siding with Russia in its war with Ukraine. In his interview with TIME, Trump blamed Kyiv for initiating the war. ‘I think what caused the war to start was when they started talking about joining NATO,’ the President says. The negotiated peace he is pursuing would hand Vladimir Putin some 20% of Ukrainian territory. ‘Crimea will stay with Russia,’ Trump says.
