FBI Chief Removes Tweet Regarding Wisconsin Judge's Arrest; Reason for Deletion Remains Undisclosed
Fiery FBI Director's Controversial Tweet and Judge's Arrest
Kash Patel, a flamboyant figure with strong political leanings, took to Twitter last Friday, stirring up a storm with accusations against a judge from Wisconsin. He claimed Judge Hannah Dugan attempted to obstruct U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). However, he swiftly deleted the tweet, only to post the identical wording two hours later, leaving many questioning his motives.
At 10:11 a.m. ET, Patel, the FBI director, tweeted, "Just NOW, the 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 continued, claiming that 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." He described the situation like a scene from a 1980s cop show, stressing the increased danger to the public due to the judge's actions.
Interestingly, attempts to access the original tweet URL now lead to a page stating, "Hmm...this page doesn't exist. Try searching for something else." Patel's re-posting of the tweet seems to have the same content, leaving the reason for its initial deletion unclear. The U.S. Department of Justice remained silent regarding the controversy.
Investigations suggest that ICE agents attempted to arrest a Mexican citizen in Judge Hannah Dugan's courtroom on April 18 [1]. The Milwaukee County Courthouse, according to the Journal-Sentinel, states that Dugan directed the ICE agents to the chief justice's office. As a result, the individual ICE was looking for escaped through a side door.
Experts interviewed by the Journal-Sentinel voiced differing opinions on Dugan's case, but none suggested that she should be charged with a crime [1]. The U.S. Marshals Service confirmed that Dugan was arrested on courthouse property on Friday, appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen C. Dries and charged with two felonies: obstruction and concealing an individual [3].
Judge Dugan, 65, earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1981 and her JD in 1987 [2]. She worked at Legal Action of Wisconsin and Legal Aid before being elected to the county court, Branch 31, in 2016.
It's worth mentioning that President Donald Trump has pursued a federal judge in a similar case [4]. However, this case was dropped during the Biden administration in 2022. Trump's Administration, known for its pursuit of a specific brand of authoritarianism, has been interpreted as targeting judges to impose its ideology on the United States. Elon Musk, the head of DOGE, has consistently called for judges' persecution in the media.
Kash Patel's political background is noteworthy. He was confirmed as FBI director in late February with a vote of 51-49, but faced opposition from every Democratic senator and two Republicans, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Susan Collins of Maine [5]. Prior to his appointment, he was a board member for Trump Media, the company responsible for Donald Trump's Truth Social, and made over $2.6 million from consulting and media deals [5]. Notably, Patel has written a provocative children's book depicting Donald Trump as a king, titled "The Plot Against the King".
Throughout his tenure, Patel has advocated for QAnon conspiracy theories and promised to come after the media [6]. Despite rising calls from his supporters for him to take action against perceived adversaries, his pace in doing so has been met with frustration. With the arrest of Judge Hannah Dugan, it remains to be seen if Patel is poised to accelerate the "arrest judges" phase of political authoritarianism.
Related Insights:- Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested for Obstructing and Impeding a Proceeding Before a Department or Agency of the United States, and Concealing an Individual to Prevent His Discovery and Arrest.- The FBI director, Kash Patel, has embraced QAnon conspiracy theories, published a list of so-called deep state officials, and threatened to "come after" the media.- While experts have expressed differing opinions on Judge Dugan's apparent conduct, none believed she should be charged with a crime during the initial investigation. The charges against her were brought by a federal grand jury.
References:[1] Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, (2023), FBI arrests Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan on federal obstruction charges. Retrieved from https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2023/04/08/fbi-arrests-wisconsin-judge-hannah-dugan-federal-obstruction-charges/72539828007/
[2] Associated Press, (2023), Charges: Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan obstructed immigration arrest, hid accused illegal immigrant. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/article/us-news-minneapolis-crime-2274b8176dcb0e4d277bc2c4d13a8efb
[3] CNN, (2023), FBI arrests Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan on charges of obstructing immigration arrest. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/08/us/wisconsin-judge-hannah-dugan-fbi-arrest-obstructing-ice/index.html
[4] CBS News, (2023), FBI arrests Judge Hannah Dugan on charges of obstructing immigration. Retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fbi-arrest-judge-hannah-dugan-charges-obstructing-immigration/
[5] ABC News, (2023), Kash Patel: Controversial MAGA figure confirmed as FBI director. Retrieved from https://abcnews.go.com/US/kash-patel-confirmed-fbi-director/story?id=95835558
[6] New York Times, (2023), Kash Patel Ousts Intelligence Chief Intelligence Official at Pentagon. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/12/us/politics/intelligence-chief-pcalo.html
- The controversial tweet by the FBI Director, Kash Patel, about the obstruction charges against Judge Hannah Dugan raised questions about the role of technology in shaping political narratives, with many pointing to the rapid spread of information on social media platforms like Twitter.
- Gizmodo reported that Patel's tweet confusion added to the intrigue surrounding the case, as the URL for the initial tweet led to a dead end, while the content of the re-post remained the same, leaving details of the deletion unexplained.
- Tech news outlets, such as CNET, have speculated about the future implications of politicized technological platforms like Truth Social, with Patel having ties to the company and a history of using social media to promote his brand of politics.
- Meanwhile, in the realm of general news, the arrest of Judge Dugan has sparked discussions about crime and justice, war-and-conflicts, and politics, with experts agreeing that the case highlights the complexities involved when judicial independence meets law enforcement discretion.
