Last Week in America: A Judge Was Arrested. And We'd Better Wake Up.

When the government arrests judges for using their conscience, the Constitution isn’t broken — it’s being dismantled.

Apr 30, 2025

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Last week, something happened in America that should have set off alarm bells from coast to coast.
Instead, too many shrugged. Or worse—cheered.

A sitting judge—Judge Hannah Dugan of Milwaukee—was arrested. In her courthouse. In front of her colleagues. In front of the public she serves.

Not for corruption. Not for violence.
But because she allegedly allowed an undocumented immigrant, charged only with a misdemeanor, to avoid being snatched by ICE in the hallways of a courthouse.

Think about that. A man charged with nothing more than a fight with a roommate-no murder, no trafficking, no terrorism—was the pretext.
And for that, they treated Judge Dugan like a fugitive.

They dragged her out like she was Pablo Escobar in a floral dress.

This wasn’t law enforcement.
This wasn’t public safety.
This was political showboating—staged for maximum humiliation and maximum fear.

Because make no mistake: the message wasn’t for Judge Dugan alone.
It was for every judge in America.
It was for every public defender, prosecutor, and city official who might consider putting conscience before cruelty.

Obey—or else.

We’ve seen this before. Remember Judge Shelley Joseph in Massachusetts, 2019? Another woman, another judge, another person criminalized not for breaking the law but for breaking ranks.

Thanks for reading! If you hate autocracy, share this with a friend.

That’s how authoritarianism operates. It doesn’t always come jackbooted in the night. Sometimes it comes wearing a badge and carrying a warrant, smiling for the cameras while it hollows out the system from within.

And what about proportionality? What about restraint?
Judge Dugan wasn’t a flight risk. She has a home. A courtroom. A public schedule.
A professional Department of Justice would have called her and scheduled her. Processed her with dignity.
But that’s not what they wanted.

They wanted a show.

They wanted the photo of a judge in cuffs. They wanted headlines screaming about law and order. They wanted to make an example.

And they did.

They told every other official in America, "You work for us now. Do what we say, or you’ll find yourself on the floor, too."

If we keep going down this road—and we might—what's next?

Arresting public defenders for "obstructing" by defending their clients too well?
Charging jurors with conspiracy if they dare acquit someone the government has targeted?
Prosecuting journalists for quoting the "wrong" sources?

Laugh if you want. But every slide into tyranny looks absurd at first. Until it doesn’t.

Until it’s too late.

And let’s be crystal clear: the Department of Justice isn’t supposed to be a presidential security team.
It isn’t supposed to be a hit squad for political convenience.
It’s supposed to be the guardian of impartial justice.
When it becomes a tool for ideological enforcement, the Constitution isn’t just being ignored; it’s being actively destroyed.

If we don’t stand up now—if we don’t scream bloody murder over this abuse—then we deserve the government we’ll get.
A government where judges are stooges.
Where law is a cudgel.
Where justice is whatever the executive says it is that morning.

We are standing at the edge of that cliff right now.

Last week in America, a judge was arrested for not falling in line.
If that doesn’t shake you awake, I don’t know what will.

This wasn’t law enforcement.
It was a warning shot.
And it won't be the last if we don’t push back—with words, outrage, and action.

If this piece helped clarify things for you, send it to one person.

Just one. That’s how we grow—one conscience at a time.

Last Week in America: A Judge Was Arrested. And We'd Better Wake Up.

When the government arrests judges for using their conscience, the Constitution isn’t broken — it’s being dismantled.

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