Trump administration is sending 'a message to chill the judiciary' with Wisconsin judge's arrest, her peer says

Source: CNN Politics

Published 2:00 PM EDT, Sun April 27, 2025


CNN — A peer of the Wisconsin judge who the FBI arrested for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant avoid federal immigration enforcement said her arrest is meant to intimidate the judiciary by the Trump administration.

“I think they’re trying to send a message to chill the judiciary,” Wisconsin Appellate Judge Pedro Colón said in a Saturday interview with CNN’s Kyung Lah, adding, “It speaks more I think to the politics and sort of the symbolic gestures of power by people who don’t really appreciate the Constitution, don’t really appreciate the rule of law.” “They want to create circumstances and a culture where people are unsettled about their rights, about their duties and about the way we go about our jobs,” Colón continued.

Colón’s comments came a day after the FBI charged Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan with obstruction and concealing the individual from arrest. Colón said he’s known Dugan for more than 15 years through the legal community, and described her as “an unbiased, ethical judge.”

Since President Donald Trump took office this year, his administration has cracked down on immigration and Dugan’s arrest underscores its aggressive approach to immigration enforcement.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/27/politics/wisconsin-judge-arrest-trump-administration/index.html