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Gone quiet · last update Jul 7, 2026 / Wisconsin

The conviction of Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan over an ICE arrest

Overview · reviewed October 28, 2026

In April 2025 the FBI arrested Hannah Dugan, a Milwaukee County circuit judge, on charges that she helped an immigrant in the country illegally evade federal agents trying to arrest him at her courthouse, escalating a clash between the Trump administration and the judiciary.[1][2] A jury convicted her of obstruction in December 2025, she resigned in January 2026, and in July she was fined $5,000 and avoided prison.[3][4][5]

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A jury convicted her of obstruction in December 2025, she resigned in January 2026, and in July she was fined $5,000 and avoided prison.[3][4][5]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2025-04-21 (UTC): 28%, 57 of 206 tracked outlets (15 left, 27 center, 15 right)Week of 2025-04-28 (UTC): 12%, 25 of 204 tracked outlets (5 left, 15 center, 5 right)Week of 2025-05-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-12 (UTC): 19%, 38 of 202 tracked outlets (9 left, 19 center, 10 right)Week of 2025-05-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-07 (UTC): 3%, 5 of 191 tracked outlets (0 left, 1 center, 4 right)Week of 2025-07-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-15 (UTC): 14%, 26 of 187 tracked outlets (9 left, 9 center, 8 right)Week of 2025-12-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-29 (UTC): 6%, 10 of 166 tracked outlets (4 left, 4 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-01-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-06 (UTC): 9%, 50 of 560 tracked outlets (11 left, 17 center, 22 right)Week of 2026-07-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outlets, so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 4 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (7 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Jul 6, 202611172250 of 5609%
Dec 29, 202544210 of 1666%
Dec 15, 202599826 of 18714%
Jul 7, 20250145 of 1913%
May 12, 20259191038 of 20219%
Apr 28, 2025515525 of 20412%
Apr 21, 202515271557 of 20628%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Jul 7, 2026 · first reported · Headline from Border Report

    Ex-Wisconsin judge spared prison for obstructing ICE arrest of Mexican immigrant

Background

The FBI said Dugan had "intentionally misdirected" immigration agents away from the man.[1] The Wisconsin Supreme Court temporarily barred her from exercising the powers of a judge while the case proceeded,[6] a federal her in May,[7] and she pleaded not guilty.[8][9] A magistrate judge recommended that the case go forward.[10]

In December a jury found her guilty of the felony obstruction charge.[3] Dugan sent her resignation letter to the governor in January as Republicans prepared to her,[4] and in July US District Judge Lynn Adelman sentenced her to a $5,000 fine without prison time.[5]

Supporting stories (10)
  1. FBI arrests Milwaukee County judge; accused of obstructing immigration arrest
  2. FBI arrests Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan; accused of obstructing ICE arrest
  3. Jury finds Judge Hannah Dugan guilty of obstruction for helping an immigrant evade federal agents
  4. Wisconsin judge convicted of obstructing arrest of immigrant resigns as GOP threatens impeachment
  5. Former Wisconsin judge spared prison for obstructing ICE arrest of Mexican immigrant
  6. Wisconsin high court suspends Milwaukee judge accused of helping man evade immigration authorities
  7. Federal grand jury indicts Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan in immigration case
  8. Wisconsin judge pleads not guilty to helping a man evade federal immigration agents
  9. Milwaukee County Judge Dugan pleads not guilty in federal court
  10. Judge recommends that case against Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan proceed

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 10 recorded updates

July 2026

  1. Former Wisconsin judge spared prison for obstructing ICE arrest of Mexican immigrantHeadline from Philadelphia Inquirer · 51 outlets

January 2026

  1. Wisconsin judge convicted of obstructing arrest of immigrant resigns as GOP threatens impeachmentHeadline from Anchorage Daily News · 10 outlets

December 2025

  1. Jury finds Judge Hannah Dugan guilty of obstruction for helping an immigrant evade federal agentsHeadline from Herald Bulletin · 27 outlets

July 2025

  1. Judge recommends that case against Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan proceedHeadline from MyNorthwest · 5 outlets

May 2025

  1. Milwaukee County Judge Dugan pleads not guilty in federal courtHeadline from Fox2 Detroit · 6 outlets
  2. Wisconsin judge pleads not guilty to helping a man evade federal immigration agentsHeadline from WMUR · 21 outlets
  3. Federal grand jury indicts Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan in immigration caseHeadline from CBS News · 27 outlets

April 2025

  1. Wisconsin high court suspends Milwaukee judge accused of helping man evade immigration authoritiesHeadline from Minneapolis Star Tribune · 26 outlets
  2. FBI arrests Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan; accused of obstructing ICE arrestHeadline from FOX 4 Dallas · 20 outlets
  3. FBI arrests Milwaukee County judge; accused of obstructing immigration arrestHeadline from Fox10 Phoenix · 53 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →