(Right Report)—A Wisconsin judge is threatening to boycott court sessions in response to the recent arrest of her colleague, Judge Hannah Dugan, by federal authorities.
On Saturday, Judge Monica Isham sent an email to judges statewide, titled “Guidance Requested or I Refuse to Hold Court,” expressing her refusal to cooperate 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 stated, referencing both the U.S. and Wisconsin constitutions.
“If this costs me my job or gets me arrested then at least I know I did the right thing,” she added.
Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon called Isham’s stance “problematic” in a social media post. Dugan was arrested on Friday, charged with obstruction of an official proceeding and concealing an individual to prevent discovery and arrest. According to a criminal complaint, she helped an undocumented Mexican national, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, evade ICE agents. Flores-Ruiz faced three misdemeanor battery charges for allegedly assaulting two people during a court appearance on April 18.
The complaint alleges that Dugan directed federal agents from ICE, FBI, CBP, and DEA to the chief judge’s office and, after the hearing, escorted Flores-Ruiz and his attorney through a restricted jury door to avoid agents waiting in the public area.
Dugan, elected to Branch 31 of the Circuit Court in 2016 and unopposed in 2022, primarily handles misdemeanor cases, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She has previously worked with legal aid organizations and served as executive director of Catholic Charities.
