Milwaukee judge on trial for aiding immigrant told staffer she’d take ‘the heat’

1 month ago 5

By TODD RICHMOND, Associated Press

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Prosecutors played audio recordings Monday as they tried to show jurors that a Wisconsin judge knew what was at stake earlier this year when she directed an immigrant to a private door while federal agents were in the courthouse to arrest the man.

“I’ll get the heat,” Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan told her court reporter as they discussed who would assist Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, according to courtroom audio.

Federal prosecutors charged Dugan with obstruction and concealment in April, an extraordinary consequence of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. According to an FBI affidavit, a team of six federal agents and officers traveled to the Milwaukee County courthouse on April 18 to arrest Flores-Ruiz, 31, for being in the country illegally.