Wisconsin’s governor, Democrat Tony Evers, has reacted to the Trump administration’s arrest of county circuit judge, Hannah Dugan.
He accused the administration of repeatedly using “dangerous rhetoric to attack and attempt to undermine our judiciary at every level”.
The FBI on Friday arrested Dugan accused of obstruction after it was said she helped a man evade US immigration authorities as they were seeking to arrest him at her courthouse.
Dugan was arrested in the courthouse where she works in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at 8.30am on Friday on charges of obstruction.
Dugan appeared in court in Milwaukee on Friday before being released from custody.
Trump weighed in on his Truth Social platform by sharing an image of the judge found on the judge’s Facebook page by the rightwing blogger Libs of TikTok, which showed Dugan on the bench wearing a KN95 face mask and displaying the Ukrainian national symbol of a trident.
Later in the day, the FBI director posted a photograph of the judge in handcuffs on X with the caption: “No one is above the law”.
Governor Evers, a Democrat, said in a statement on Saturday, “I have deep respect for the rule of law, our nation’s judiciary, the importance of judges making decisions impartially without fear or favor, and the efforts of law enforcement to hold people accountable if they commit a crime.”
He added, “I will continue to put my faith in our justice system as this situation plays out in the court of law.”
Dugan has been charged with the federal offenses of obstructing a proceeding and concealing an individual to prevent arrest, according to documents filed with the court.
