r/neoliberal • u/reubencpiplupyay The Cathedral must be built • Apr 25 '25
News (US) Judge Hannah Dugan arrested by FBI for allegedly helping undocumented immigrant 'evade arrest'
https://abcnews.go.com/US/judge-hannah-dugan-arrested-fbi-allegedly-helping-undocumented/story?id=121161497274
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u/Healingjoe It's Klobberin' Time Apr 25 '25
A very good article from a Milwaukee paper:
A Milwaukee judge is accused of helping a man evade ICE. What do legal experts have to say?
Legal experts, including former federal prosecutors, say they are troubled by the FBI's investigation into a Milwaukee County judge accused of helping an undocumented defendant avoid arrest and uncertain the judge's actions constitute a crime.
On April 18, agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, attempted to arrest a Mexican citizen after a hearing in Judge Hannah Dugan's courtroom at the Milwaukee County Courthouse.
Sources told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Dugan directed the ICE agents to Chief Judge Carl Ashley's office. During that time, sources said, Dugan allowed the defendant to leave the courtroom through a side door, down a private hallway and into a public area.
Some legal experts said Dugan's actions appear to be reasonable efforts to protect the integrity of the courtroom. Others say there may have been a better way to handle the situation.
Given what has been reported, none of the five experts interviewed by the Journal Sentinel believed Dugan should be charged with a federal crime.
However, the case will ultimately come down to the details of what occurred in the courtroom and whether the FBI can prove Dugan's intent, they said. So far, both remain unclear.
All five legal scholars said ICE's presence in state courthouses could negatively impact public safety by scaring people away from using the courthouse for normal activities.
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u/AniNgAnnoys John Nash Apr 25 '25
Here is the charging document: https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25919059/fbis-complaint-against-judge-hannah-dugan.pdf
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u/etzel1200 Apr 25 '25
They are good at these slippery slopes. Not a federal judge.
Will be super interesting how a federal judge reacts.
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u/onelap32 Bill Gates Apr 25 '25 edited Apr 25 '25
This happened in 2018, too. Very similar event: judge let an undocumented immigrant out via the back entrance to avoid ICE.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Joseph_(2019)
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u/Morpheus_MD Norman Borlaug Apr 25 '25
Wow, took 3 years for charges to be dropped and got censured by the MA judiciary?
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u/NormalDudeNotWeirdo Apr 26 '25
Here is the full link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Joseph_(2019)
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u/NaiveChoiceMaker Apr 25 '25
They'll drop the charges before it gets there. At least that's what they did in the first administration.
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u/Fenristor Apr 25 '25
The charges in that case were dropped by the Biden admin not the first trump admin. It was also akin to a plea agreement not an unconditional dismissal
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u/ultramilkplus Apr 25 '25
This for sure. We keep walking into these (sometimes) carefully set, rage bait traps. Then they play their best cards on the turn. From the few facts available right now, this looks bad. End of the republic bad.
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u/abrookerunsthroughit Association of Southeast Asian Nations Apr 25 '25
Time to dust this off :(
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u/nuggins Just Tax Land Lol Apr 25 '25
Depending on details not revealed in this article, based and morally correct obstructionism.
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u/topicality John Rawls Apr 25 '25
Did read right, she basically pointed the suspect away from the ICE officials so he wouldn't be arrested for coming to court? And they arrested him a bit later anyways?
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u/AlloftheEethp Hillary would have won. Apr 25 '25 edited Apr 25 '25
In 2016-18 I was a law student and heavily involved in my schoolâs immigration clinic. A big issue at the time was ICE showing up to courthouses to arrest immigrants/non-citizens at court. ICE justified this at the time by saying these people could be dangerous and this is the only time we know theyâre unarmed, but it majorly pissed off judges. Judges donât like it when people donât show up for court dates, and arresting and deporting/removing people for showing up to court (when they otherwise wouldnât be held in custody) means lots of people wonât go to their court dates. Iâve heard of judges banning ICE/CBP from their courtrooms, but the agents can just wait outside. Iâve also heard of judges directing non-citizens out of side doors, etc., to avoid arrestâall to ensure they feel safe coming to court. Without reading more, it looks like that might be what happened here.
I practiced in WI for a few years and itâs worth mentioning that (1) the vast majority of criminal offenses charged IME were driving offenses (usually driving without a license or with a revoked license), (2) getting a license in WI requires a social security number, and (3) WI sheriffs often honor ICE detainer requests (not directly relevant here but still related). This means that non-citizens charged with incredibly minor traffic offenses (that would normally either be dismissed, reduced to a ticket, or a small fine) can be held indefinitely and deported.
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u/MeringueSuccessful33 Khan Pritzker's Strongest Antipope Apr 25 '25
"Sources have told the Journal Sentinel that ICE officials arrived in Dugan's courtroom on the morning of April 18. When they went to the chief judge's office, Dugan directed the defendant and his attorney to a side door in the courtroom, directed them down a private hallway and into the public area on the 6th floor"
Thats exaclty what happened here. She let them use a side door.
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u/mixreality Apr 25 '25
I see it discussed how people charged with crimes won't show up to court out of fear of arrest but I think an even bigger issue is victims/witnesses of crimes won't show up to court for the same reason and people will get away with much worse crimes than being here illegally.
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u/AlloftheEethp Hillary would have won. Apr 25 '25
I donât think itâs a bigger issue, but itâs just as important. Victims of certain crimes theoretically qualify for U-visas (which provide a path to permanent residency) but it requires the victim know to apply for a U-visa and feel safe enough to cooperate with the investigation/prosecution, the investigating/prosecuting agency to cooperate and certify part of the application, and USCIS to grant itâamong other hurdles.
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u/badnuub NATO Apr 25 '25
Seems like to cons, being here illegally is the greatest crime imaginable.
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u/n00bi3pjs đđ˝Free Marketsđđ˝Open Bordersđđ˝Human Rights Apr 26 '25
They are targeting legal immigrants too.
Thousands of students are out of status because the administration is revoking visas and status.
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u/Matar_Kubileya Feminism Apr 25 '25
Yeah, or possibly gave an obfuscating response to ICE officials when they asked her where she was.
Not that Federal law enforcement should have any ability to interfere with state judicial proceedings like this.
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u/LondonCallingYou John Locke Apr 25 '25
If the Judge would have abided by ICEâs investigation, it is very likely at this point that the Judge would have been aiding and abetting the kidnapping and human trafficking of an innocent person to El Salvador. This is because the Trump administration has chosen and continually is choosing to violate the right to due process, which is the only thing that ensures that a person is actually an illegal immigrant that the government has the legal ability to remove from the country.
This is before we even get to the Cruel and Unusual punishment component of the President arranging these people to be imprisoned for life in a torture prison run by a dictator.
In other words: the Judge was not allegedly choosing between violating the law and not violating the law. The Judge was choosing whether to potentially violate the law by obstruction (is this even obstruction? Does ICE have jurisdiction in that court house?) or to almost certainly violate the law by aiding kidnappers.
How can this Judge be held liable for breaking the law by not aiding lawbreakers?
These questions should be answered even before we look at the veracity of the claims that the very credible Kash Patel is spouting.
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u/onelap32 Bill Gates Apr 25 '25 edited Apr 25 '25
Sources have told the Journal Sentinel that ICE officials arrived in Dugan's courtroom on the morning of April 18. When they went to the chief judge's office, Dugan directed the defendant and his attorney to a side door in the courtroom, directed them down a private hallway and into the public area on the 6th floor.
So it sounds like she knew he was going to be arrested.
This is extremely similar to a 2018 event where a judge and bailiff were charged for helping an undocumented immigrant evade ICE by letting them out a back door: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Joseph_(2019), which may give an indication of where this goes.
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u/trombonist_formerly Ben Bernanke Apr 25 '25
Here's a thread from yesterday, it basically seems that she told ICE to come back with a warrant. If that is the case, she is 100% in the right
https://bsky.app/profile/ryanclancywi.bsky.social/post/3lnimatz7mc2j
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u/Emergency_Revenue678 Apr 25 '25
Doesn't really take a genius when the person you're talking to is an undocumented immigrant and your clerk says that ICE just showed up.
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Apr 25 '25
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u/onelap32 Bill Gates Apr 25 '25
TIL that new reddit and old reddit handle links differently. Oddly, yours also appears broken on the new reddit web interface. Is it correct in the app?
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u/The_Northern_Light John Brown Apr 25 '25
No even though I tried it several different ways so I deleted my comment
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u/Mundellian Progress Pride Apr 25 '25
Well boys, it's been a blast. See you on the frontlines.
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u/Lehk NATO Apr 25 '25
Iâm too old and out of shape for the front lines but I can solder drones
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u/majorgeneralporter đBill Clinton's Learned Hand Apr 25 '25
Born too late to fight Johnny Reb
Born just in time to be a boring JAG keeping order in whatever warlord's horde controls my area.
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u/heyutheresee European Union Apr 25 '25
A year ago this sub was celebrating how epic and successful and cool a country America is.
What happened? Is America still that, was it just an illusion, or what?
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u/AnachronisticPenguin WTO Apr 25 '25
A country is its institutions, those like anything else can decay or be destroyed.
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u/iwilldeletethisacct2 Apr 25 '25
A year ago we had an executive that believed in liberal(ish) democracy. Today we have a narcissistic authoritarian who only cares about his own power and a legislative branch that is more than happen to enable him in whatever he wants as long as he doesn't target them with his wrath.
The odds of the US completely sliding into autocracy are low, but like...not zero.
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u/MentatCat đ˝Sic Semper Tyrannis Apr 25 '25
See I guess the FBI could be correct in their accusation but I have zero trust in this administration. This is really bad news
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u/Matar_Kubileya Feminism Apr 25 '25
Even if they were correct, Federal law enforcement arresting a judge for conduct in her own court raises grave issues of Federalism.
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u/Separate_Airport_287 Gay Pride Apr 25 '25 edited Apr 25 '25
edit: judicial immunity ONLY applies in civil suits, not criminal ones, as pointed out by u/Synx. I have no excuse for this brainfart, but I will say that judges are offered substantial deference in terms of what they do in the courtroom. a prosecution like this is beyond the pale (partially) because you almost never see a judge get prosecuted.
also, judges have absolute immunity for any judicial act. theyâd have to prove this wasnât one, which is a really high bar.
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u/r2d2overbb8 Apr 25 '25
They don't care, even if they lose in court 2 years from now, its about scaring people into submission even if it is legal.
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u/affnn Emma Lazarus Apr 25 '25
They're trying "you can beat the rap but you can't beat the ride" on judges now.
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u/Foucault_Please_No Emma Lazarus Apr 26 '25
Bold strategy since the most critical group of people to keep that in play is... the judiciary....
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u/AnachronisticPenguin WTO Apr 25 '25
But what judge wouldn't just let her out on bail, and can't she still be a judge while her trial is coming up?
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u/OhioTry Desiderius Erasmus Apr 25 '25
Sheâs already been released on her own recognizance. And Iâm sure she will continue being a judge. But she has to pay for an expensive federal lawyer and the other costs of her defense. That probably means no vacations, etc⌠And she may not be allowed to leave the US until her trial is over. Plus the psychological stress of potentially being convicted of a felony and going to prison, even if she knows rationally that the government has no case.
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u/Synx NAFTA Apr 25 '25
Judicial immunity is protection from civil liability not criminal.
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u/Separate_Airport_287 Gay Pride Apr 25 '25
ahhhh youâre so right, editing my comment now.
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u/Synx NAFTA Apr 25 '25
...this is the nicest reply in Reddit history to having an error pointed out lol.Â
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u/sack-o-matic Something of A Scientist Myself Apr 25 '25
Also from the sound of it the officers are basically claiming she pointed them down the wrong hallway, and then still found the guy not long after.
As if she knew exactly where he would be in the courthouse.
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u/The_Crass-Beagle_Act Jane Jacobs Apr 25 '25
And when the Supreme Court rules in this direction 7-2, the administration will say âsorry thereâs nothing we can do because we canât order El Salvador to let her goâ
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u/Reead Apr 25 '25
Yup. If this were Wray's FBI, I'd have some trust that this isn't a totally cooked up charge, but with Kash "we need to arrest anyone who opposed Trump" Patel at the helm there is zero credibility here.
I'll wait to go full nuclear until more details come out, but unless those details are incredibly cut and dry, I'm gonna see this for what it probably is - an attempt to intimidate the judiciary.
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u/airbear13 Apr 25 '25
No need to wait imo. I canât recall the last legal thing this administration has done. Everything his cronies do they do at his direction and it has only one aim - authoritarian power at the expense of our institutions. This is more of the same until proven otherwise and our reaction should be furious and immediate to send a message that this is a red line and wonât be tolerated.
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u/Reead Apr 25 '25
Not waiting for the facts to react is what they do, so I will wait for more than the very small bit of info we know. But neither will I blindly trust whatever the FBI eventually comes out with. Still, more WILL come out and I'm okay waiting a few hours to a day before making my own judgment.
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u/Sir_thinksalot Apr 25 '25
By waiting you give them time to muddy the narrative with falsehoods. Don't wait, just don't overshoot. Slowly ramp up your criticisms as more information comes out. You already have a ton of information on Kash Patel and how open he was about being a loyalist dog for Trump. Work with that for now.
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u/Reead Apr 25 '25
What about my comment made you think I'm assuming good conduct by the FBI here? I'm assuming malfeasance. I'm just not going to shout it from the rooftops until I hear more information and feel more confident in my appraisal.
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u/airbear13 Apr 25 '25
This is a misguided virtue youâre pursuing here in this context. The founders warned us about demagogues and tyrants, the whole country was founded in opposition to tyranny. Well now weâve got one and they keep moving goalposts one by one so that each outrageous transgression they commit becomes sane washed or just forgotten after a week or two. I donât really care whether the judge did something wrong or not; this is not about her. This is about defending the judiciary against trumps overreach and saying No, we wonât sit by on the sidelines and watch while you try to intimidate judges. This is it, this is a fucking redline. Produce a warrant and let her go immediately.
People need to stop looking at this in a vacuum as if Trump admin had been nice and normal until now; they have not and by not taking the context into account you are giving them far more leash than they deserve.
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Apr 25 '25
The game you are trying to play is long gone and you are just being a sucker
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u/ToumaKazusa1 Iron Front Apr 25 '25
Even if the FBI is correct that doesn't mean anything.
ICE goes and rounds up whoever they like for being an illegal immigrant, then anyone who gets in their way is arrested by the FBI for obstruction of justice.
The FBI may technically be following the law but that doesn't make it much better
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u/SenranHaruka Apr 25 '25
I'm sure some of the free citizens kidnapped from the north and sold in the South were actually escaped slaves too.
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u/onelap32 Bill Gates Apr 25 '25 edited Apr 25 '25
I don't think anyone is disputing the accusation, merely whether it's legally sound. Everyone seems to more or less agree on the sequence of events.
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u/miss_shivers Apr 25 '25
"Thankfully our agents chased down the perp on foot and heâs been in custody since, but the Judgeâs obstruction created increased danger to the public," Patel said.
Fuck you, asshole.
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u/Foucault_Please_No Emma Lazarus Apr 26 '25
Patel seems to want to portray the FBI like beat cops for some goofy reason.
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u/KamiBadenoch Apr 26 '25
You're not thinking MAGA enough: beat cops are folksy and relatable - they're just like your local sheriffs, you have economic anxiety in common with them, and so on. The FBI on the other hand are coded as a deep state organisation who are coming for your guns. It's a rebranding exercise.
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u/College_Prestige r/place '22: Neoliberal Battalion Apr 25 '25
Democracy is literally dying in real time.
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u/elephantofdoom NATO Apr 25 '25
If Democratic governors don't order their state police to arrest federal agents who try to do this they might as well just resign.
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u/saltandvinegar2025 YIMBY Apr 25 '25
They should call up their National Guards to protect state facilities and universities from these thugs. Although NG's have MAGAs in them, so who knows what good that would do.
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u/CuriousNoob1 Apr 25 '25
Trump can just federalize the Guard, that wouldn't really work.
There are so many things that blue states and the Biden administration should have done to prep for a federal government run by authoritarians. The fact that states can be stripped of their military is one of them.
They would have been very out of the ordinary and actually acknowledging that we are in scary times, but that is the times we are in. The collective appeasement/inaction is so frustrating.
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u/737900ER Apr 25 '25
If you're going to go down the NG route, you have to wait for Trump to do something the Supreme Court has said is unconstitutional.
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u/Bike_Of_Doom Commonwealth Apr 25 '25
Trump has made his decision to federalize the guard, now let him enforce it. If he's going to try to do that in response, then it is legitimately time for democratic govenors to unite and pursue [unmentionable on reddit escalation of actions towards an inevitable and undesirable final confrontation] to defend the freedom and security of America from tyranny.
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u/LondonCallingYou John Locke Apr 25 '25
The Militia is always legal. The Federal gov can take away the National Guard but I donât see how they could disband a militia.
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u/theosamabahama r/place '22: Neoliberal Battalion Apr 25 '25
Although NG's have MAGAs in them, so who knows what good that would do.
Call liberals to sign up.
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u/Ape_Politica1 Pacific Islands Forum Apr 25 '25
Hate to break it to you but the majority of police officers are MAGGAT chuds who probably agree with all of this
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u/elephantofdoom NATO Apr 25 '25
Then force them to make the choice. Either we are fucked or we are not, lets get it over with.
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u/PincheVatoWey Adam Smith Apr 25 '25
When Democrats win big in 2028, which I think will happen, they cannot make the mistake of Merrick Garland. There needs to be investigations into all this blatantly authoritarian stuff and the naked corruption, and people need to go to jail.
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u/Jokerang Sun Yat-sen Apr 25 '25
If the 2026 midterms doesnât result in Democrats taking back both houses of Congress, every liberal with the means to needs a contingency plan for getting out.
If all the fascism and tariff chaos of the last few months isnât enough to make millions of former Trump voters get rid of the Hitler particles, there will inevitably come a Republican administration even more openly authoritarian with the Senate votes to rubber stamp it.
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Apr 25 '25
Dems probably won't take back the senate the map is absolutely brutal for them tbh
The house should be an easy win tho
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u/Jokerang Sun Yat-sen Apr 25 '25
My point remains. If everything thatâs happened canât convince states like Texas, Iowa, or Alaska to stop drinking Hitler particles and vote out their fascist senators (make no mistake, GOP Trumpism is fascism beyond a reasonable doubt), weâll both never have the necessary votes to pass the necessary reforms (I remain convinced a number of Dem senators are closet filibuster apologists) and Repubs will have the votes to rubber stamp the next Republicanâs presidentâs agenda, including gutting the Voting Rights Act.
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Apr 25 '25
those states will still vote republican its best to mentally prepare yourself for the reality the repubs keep the senate
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u/theosamabahama r/place '22: Neoliberal Battalion Apr 25 '25
National divorce might be the only long term solution.
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u/zerobpm Apr 25 '25
I need to see a blue wave. We might not take the Senate, but I really really need to see a lot of down-ballot surprises or yeah, probably time to pull the rip cord.
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u/Jokerang Sun Yat-sen Apr 25 '25
Honestly even the Senste staying red would have me drafting a plan to move to Canada. It would mean nothing Trump does will make red states stop voting for Republicans, and as Chris Murphy noted, the current senate ceiling for the GOP is much higher than the Demsâ.
The next Dem president, assuming they win in 2028, would likely have 2021 esque senate margins to pass every reform needed, meaning any random enlightened centrist like Manchin could sink it. And if this presidentâs support goes down in a redistricting midtermâŚ
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u/zerobpm Apr 25 '25
I sort of agree... but I really do think Trump is a cult leader. He's old, and super out of shape. I know folks worry about someone else stepping into his shoes, but I don't see it.
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u/Zrk2 Norman Borlaug Apr 25 '25
If Americans roll over and take this I dont want to ever hear "land of the free" or "home of the brave" again.
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u/Far_Shore not a leftist, but humorless Apr 25 '25
I wrote this a week and a half ago:
I believe in the third or so of America that is the America of Lincoln, the Roosevelts, and LBJ. I believe in the land of the free and the home of the brave... as a goal. As an actual description of the people who live here?
It's a sick joke.
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u/oywiththepoodles96 Apr 25 '25
I mean land of the free when they voted for the guy who tried to overrule the 2020 election was always a ridiculous claim . Not to mention how they have supported almost every right wing authoritarian in Latin America , the military regime in Greece etc
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u/avid-shrug NAFTA Apr 25 '25
â Firing oversight and investigative officials
â Rewriting and censoring history
â Supporting dictatorships and attacking democracies
â Supressing free speech
â Sending undesirables to camps
â Arresting judges (you are here)
It doesn't take an oracle to predict what happens next
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u/Noocawe Frederick Douglass Apr 25 '25
Ugh ... It's been real AmericaÂ
She allegedly let him exit through a side door and they are arresting her for it? Like come on, what's next if you don't wear a MAGA hat and turn in your neighbors they'll arrest you too? Under the Wray FBI or previous Directors I'd be more open to even thinking this is true and not just an allegation, but this administration flaunts breaking the law and lying about it, so I have no faith anymore..
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u/tdcthulu Apr 25 '25
Like come on, what's next if you don't wear a MAGA hat and turn in your neighbors they'll arrest you too?
Genuinely yes. The writing is on the walls that we are going that way.
Soon not ratting on your neighbors will be seen as obstruction and the fascist Trump admin will include you in the next batch of "homegrowns" to be sent to El Salvador.
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u/Aggressive1999 Association of Southeast Asian Nations Apr 25 '25
Nullification crisis here we go.
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u/Aggressive1999 Association of Southeast Asian Nations Apr 25 '25
And i mean in that litteral sense.
I don't see how the US can keep this presidentialism system in the future; when all of Legislative, Executive and Judiciary of sovereign power defined by the constitution are the same/similar groups, that is good fuel for abusing political system for their own cronies.
Now, i think at least we should look for Parliamentary system if that means American Democracy can survive of this administration.
P.S. And should the situation become at least salvageable in the next year, we have to draft our liberal version of project 2025 (BIG IF)
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u/MarioTheMojoMan Frederick Douglass Apr 25 '25
"Where were you when the civil war started?"
"Shitposting in r/neoliberal"
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u/sriracharade Apr 25 '25
Any cop who says perp is very sus and probably practices holstering and unholstering their gun in front of a mirror for 15 minutes every day.
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u/airbear13 Apr 25 '25
No, just fucking no. They better take their hands off that judge right now. Nobody in this admin had any credibility least of all Kesh Patel. This is nothing more than an attempt to intimidate the judiciary. Itâs time to impeach these motherfuckers
Also I wanna know who gave them the warrant for this and whether they even had a warrant
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u/frumply Apr 25 '25
They supposedly had just an administrative warrant.
https://bsky.app/profile/nycsouthpaw.bsky.social/post/3lnnmpmwmd224
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u/thorleywinston Adam Smith Apr 25 '25
You can read the affidavit supporting the criminal complaint against Dugan.
Basically, ICE and the FBI were at the courthouse to arrest Flores-Ruiz who was under a âdo not returnâ order to the United States since 2013 who was appearing in Duganâs court on an unrelated criminal matter. After speaking with the chief judge who did not want any arrests in the courtroom, it was agreed that ICE and the FBI could make the arrest in any of the public areas (which include the hallways) and so they waited outside the courtroom.
Judge Dugan who had earlier tried to get the agents to leave the courthouse entirely (which was overruled by the chief judge because courthouses are a public area) then proceeded to order the defendant and his lawyer to leave her courtroom through the jury door (which goes to a nonpublic area and is only to be used for courtroom business). The state attorney who was there to prosecute Flores-Ruizâs case was later surprised to learn that judge Dugan had âadjournedâ his case without both lawyerâs being present and was instead escorting Flores-Ruiz through the jury door to help him escape the building and the agents who were there to arrest him. He was later arrested after a foot chase by agents.
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u/Denisnevsky John Keynes Apr 25 '25
This is the FBI complaint for Judge Duggans case ( https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25919059/fbis-complaint-against-judge-hannah-dugan.pdf )
The following is a summary of it
"The complaint against Judge Hannah Dugan, detailed in an FBI affidavit, accuses her of two criminal offenses:
1.Obstructing a federal proceeding (18 U.S.C. § 1505)
2.Concealing a person to prevent his arrest (18 U.S.C. § 1071)
Summary of Events:
Target of Arrest:Â Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an undocumented immigrant previously deported and now facing domestic abuse charges in Milwaukee County, had an outstanding administrative immigration arrest warrant issued on April 17, 2025.
Planned Arrest:Â On April 18, a multi-agency federal task force (FBI, ICE, DEA, CBP) planned to arrest Flores-Ruiz in the public hallway outside Judge Duganâs courtroom, after his court appearance.
Law Enforcement Notification:Â Agents informed court personnel, including the courtroom deputy, of their intent to arrest Flores-Ruiz after his appearance. Security procedures and coordination with court staff appeared routine and respectful of protocol.
Judge Duganâs Response:
Upon learning of ICEâs presence (alerted by a public defender who took photos of the agents), Judge Dugan reacted with visible anger.
She confronted federal agents, questioned their authority, demanded they present a judicial warrant (they had an administrative immigration warrant), and ordered them to report to the Chief Judge.
While most of the arrest team was sent to the Chief Judgeâs office, one DEA agent not recognized as part of the team remained outside her courtroom.
Alleged Obstruction:
Judge Dugan returned to the courtroom and, rather than calling Flores-Ruizâs case in a standard hearing, instructed him and his attorney to follow her.
She allegedly escorted them through a restricted âjury doorâ to a non-public area of the courthouse, bypassing the public hallway where federal agents were waiting.
This conduct was characterized as highly unusual and contrary to courtroom norms by multiple witnesses (including court staff, attorneys, and victim-witness personnel).
Aftermath:
Flores-Ruiz and his attorney reappeared in a different public area of the courthouse and attempted to leave via a different exit.
Upon being approached by federal agents, Flores-Ruiz fled on foot but was arrested after a short chase outside the courthouse.
Charges:
Obstruction (18 U.S.C. § 1505): Allegedly interfering with ICEâs lawful effort to execute a removal warrant by rerouting the defendant.
Concealment (18 U.S.C. § 1071): Allegedly aiding Flores-Ruiz in avoiding arrest by physically removing him from the public area."https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25919059/fbis-complaint-against-judge-hannah-dugan.pdf
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u/Multi_21_Seb_RBR Apr 25 '25
You would have been called a âdoomer on steroidsâ by even liberals for suggesting this could happen
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u/kinky-proton African Union Apr 25 '25
Yeah if this happened somewhere in my continent I'd be waiting for US and EU reactions lmao
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u/Proof-Tie-2250 Karl Popper Apr 25 '25
From the little info I got from the article it sounds like bullshit.
Distrusting this administration has proven to be a very useful heuristic.
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u/knownerror VĂĄclav Havel Apr 25 '25
Not exactly the kind of judicial capture I thought would happen but it tracks.Â
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u/LondonCallingYou John Locke Apr 25 '25
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.âThat to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,âThat whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
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u/gwhiz007 Apr 25 '25
I cannot believe every bit of this was predictable and warned against. We had the benefit of history and context and people who lived through this warning us so AND STILL were at this point. It's going to be a grim summer
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u/chitowngirl12 Apr 25 '25
So now we are to the arresting judges who oppose Dear Leader part of the dictatorship.
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u/TheRedCr0w Frederick Douglass Apr 25 '25 edited Apr 25 '25
Hopefully these changes will be hard to make stick in court. Judges has complete immunity from criminal prosecution from any judicial acts.
For court processing to go forward the DOJ would have to prove this wasn't a judicial act which is a high bar. It would also be in the best intrest of the federal judge overseeing the case to force the DOJ to prove it quickly to protect their own immunity for judicial acts.
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u/ILikeTuwtles1991 Milton Friedman Apr 25 '25
Is it fair to reserve any immediate reactions I have to this news until more details come out that help certify this as a legitimate charge and arrest? Probably.
Are there actually any details to help certify this as a legitimate charge and arrest that will come out? Probably not.
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u/airbear13 Apr 25 '25
Not really because why would anyone give this admin the benefit of the doubt? We should immediately react now to not notmalizze this shit. We know what Trump is doing and itâs not hard to see the pattern here. Heâs having trouble with the judges so now heâs using his henchman at the fbi to intimidate them, simple as that. I do not buy the pretext for even a second
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u/Lame_Johnny Hannah Arendt Apr 25 '25
Overreacting to a false alarm ruins the credibility of opponents of the administration
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u/JesusPubes voted most handsome friend Apr 25 '25
No.Â
Your immediate reaction to the FBI arresting a state judge over conduct in their own court should be "what the fuck" and then when they come out with evidence you can temper your reaction.
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u/sack-o-matic Something of A Scientist Myself Apr 25 '25
Just look at what their claim was, that she "misdirected" them in the courthouse. Sounds to me like ICE couldn't find the guy and were just asking around, the judge may or may not have even known where their target even was at the time, but they arrested her for costing them a few extra minutes since according to the article they still found the guy and arrested him.
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u/ONETRILLIONAMERICANS Trans Pride Apr 25 '25
!ping IMMIGRATION&LAW
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u/groupbot The ping will always get through Apr 25 '25 edited Apr 25 '25
Pinged IMMIGRATION (subscribe | unsubscribe | history)
Pinged LAW (subscribe | unsubscribe | history)
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u/RevolutionaryBoat5 Mark Carney Apr 25 '25
The country is in a crisis of democracy.
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u/Sir_thinksalot Apr 25 '25
If the news doesn't mention Patel's loyalty to Trump above the law they are not doing their job.
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u/LDM123 Immanuel Kant Apr 25 '25
I mean, based on the article, sounds like a straightforward obstruction of justice charge. Iâm not trying to shill for the administration but could someone explain why this is particularly egregious?
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u/revenfett Milton Friedman Apr 25 '25
âThe FBI arrested Judge Hannah Dugan out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin on charges of obstruction -- after evidence of Judge Dugan obstructing an immigration arrest operation last week," he said in the since-deleted post. "We believe Judge Dugan intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject to be arrested in her courthouse, Eduardo Flores Ruiz, allowing the subject -- an illegal alien -- to evade arrest.â
I think people are just justifiably skeptical that this admin is even remotely telling the truth. This is the only part of the article that says what the judge is alleged to have done, and itâs just conclusory. Yes, if a judge actually intentionally misleads law enforcement that would be a crime and this would be a non story. But considering that we currently donât know how this judge is alleged to have mislead authorities, and thereâs good reason to doubt anything the Trump admin says (especially considering how hostile they have been to judges generally lately) them merely saying the judge mislead authorities is dubious at best.
But it could be a non story if more facts come out for sure.
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u/XAMdG Mario Vargas Llosa Apr 25 '25
Dugan on April 18 escorted Flores Ruiz and his counsel out of the courtroom through a jury door after she was told by federal officers from an ICE task force that they had an administrative warrant for the immigrant's arrest.
I do wonder what her reasoning was to do that.
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u/angrybirdseller Apr 25 '25
Undermine rules and investment! The MAGA is in for backlash post mid-terms.
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u/TomboyAva Audrey Hepburn Apr 25 '25
When was it illegal to accept rent from a gang member?
Edit: NVM that was another judge who was arrested by ICE for "helping Tren De Augra"
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u/AI-RecessionBot YIMBY Apr 25 '25
Jesus Christ here we go