Trump Administration Arrests Federal Judge

The reason? For “helping an undocumented immigrant evade arrest.”

In Trump’s newest intimidation move, FBI agents arrested a Wisconsin judge on Friday after she allegedly helped an undocumented immigrant evade arrest.

Trump appointed FBI director Kash Patel posted on X that Judge Dugan has been charged with abstraction for allegedly assisting Eduardo Flores Ruiz avoiding arrest after he appeared in her courtroom last week.

VIA NBC

Patel makes the allegation that the FBI believes Dugan “intentionally misdirected federal agents away” from Ruiz as agents were attempting to arrest him at her courthouse. According to the U.S. Marshals Service, Judge Dugan was arrested at around 8:30 am on courthouse property. After paying her bond, Dugan was released it her arraignment and plea is set for May 15.

Via CNN

In March and April, ICE agents arrested people in courthouse hallways as it is legal to do.

While House spokesman Kush Desai told NBC that “the days of actively aiding and abetting illegal aliens invading our country are over.”

The thing is, this is right out of Hitler’s playbook. Judge Lothar Kreyssig, a German guardianship judge who openly opposed the Nazi program known as Aktion T4 was one of the most notable cases of judicial resistance.

Judge Kreyssig, VIA Gedenkstätte Stille Helden

Once he discovered that mentally ill and disabled individuals under his legal care were being transferred to killing centers without due process, Kreyssig refused to approve the transfers and attempted to prosecute those involved, denouncing the program as state-sanctioned murder.

He even wrote directly to the Reich Minister of Justice, explaining that the killings were illegal under German law. Although he was not imprisoned, possibly due to his connections and to avoid drawing public attention, Kreyssig was forced into early retirement in 1940.

His case stands out as a rare and courageous example of a judge resisting Nazi policies from within the legal system. Although Judge Dugan and Kreyssig’s stories are not exactly the same, it’s a tale as old as human existence. This has happened before, and it will happen again if we continue to go down this path.

This is intimidation, plain and simple.

Trump’s administration is looking to put fear in judges, the same way OBGYN doctors fear giving women in red states abortions, leading to numerous preventable deaths. These are professionals, who work and train for decades to get to where they are at professionally. They won’t risk their career and livelihood for the chance to lose their licenses and possibly land in jail. It’s understandable, it’s not their fault. It’s the systems fault that forces them to act and work a certain way solely for political motivation.

In the end, what we’re witnessing is a calculated erosion of judicial independence under the guise of law enforcement. The arrest of Judge Dugan isn’t just a headline—it’s a strong warning. It sends a chilling message to those within the legal system: toe the line, or face the consequences.

Drawing parallels to history isn’t fearmongering—it’s a reminder. When judges like Lothar Kreyssig stood against state-sponsored injustice, they were silenced, not for breaking the law, but for upholding it against a regime that had weaponized legality for political ends.

Today, we must recognize the signs.

The criminalization of judicial discretion and professional integrity threatens the foundation of a free society. If we allow fear to dictate justice, we risk repeating history—not in abstract, but in real time, with real people paying the price.