A U.S. judge was indicted by a federal grand jury for covering up a person's arrest and obstruction of the lawsuit after being accused of helping undocumented immigrants evade authorities.
Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested last month after prosecutors said she hindered Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officer (ICE) agents who appeared outside the court to arrest the man without a judicial warrant.
Prosecutors claim she tried to help Eduardo Flores-Ruiz and his attorney leave the courtroom from outside the rear jury before being arrested.
Dugan faces up to six years in prison if he is convicted on two charges. Dugan "aggressively advocates her innocence and looks forward to being proven in court," Craig Mastantuono, one of Dugan's lawyers, said in a statement.
Dugan, elected in 2016, is expected to plead not guilty at the next hearing scheduled for Thursday.
Flores-Ruiz illegally re-entered the United States after being deported in 2013, according to court documents.
He was charged with three counts of misdemeanor domestic abuse in Milwaukee County in March, and he held a hearing in court in April, according to online state court records.
Court documents show Dugan was warned that immigration agents were shown in the court corridor by her clerk.
In an affidavit, Dugan was described as being apparently angry at their arrival and called the situation "absurd" and then left the bench and returned to her room.
She and another judge then contacted the ice agent in court, which witnesses called "confrontational, angry manner."
Dugan asked them to talk to the chief judge and lead them away from the court after a round-trip attack on Flores-Ruiz's arrest warrant, the affidavit said.
When she returned to court, she heard her telling Flores-Ruiz to go with her and they passed the jury door was taken out.
Flores-Ruiz was later captured by federal agents outside the court after chasing.
The indictment is the latest incident in President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration and local authorities.
Democrats accuse Trump's administration of trying to quell the judicial opposition by Dugan's example.