不法移民かくまった地方判事を司法妨害罪で起訴 米連邦大陪審

【ワシントンＡＦＰ＝時事】米連邦大陪審は１３日、不法移民が逮捕を免れるのを手助けしたとして逮捕・拘束されていたウィスコンシン州の裁判官を司法妨害罪で起訴した。（写真は連邦裁判所前でミルウォーキー郡巡回裁判所のハナ・デュガン判事の逮捕に抗議する人々。米ウィスコンシン州ミルウォーキーにて）
　ドナルド・トランプ大統領は１月の就任以降、不法移民の徹底的な取り締まりを公約に掲げているが、同氏は適正な手続きを順守していないとする複数の裁判所と対立している。
　起訴されたウィスコンシン州ミルウォーキー郡巡回裁判所の裁判官ハナ・デュガン被告（６６）は先月、逮捕された。司法妨害罪で有罪となれば、５年以下の禁錮刑を科される。
　デュガン被告は、移民税関捜査局（ＩＣＥ）捜査官をはじめとする連邦捜査官が、裁判所の廊下でメキシコ国籍の男を拘束しようとしているのを知り、法廷から逃れるのを手助けしたとして起訴されている。
　デュガン被告の逮捕は民主党の激しい反発を招く一方、共和党の一部からは称賛された。
　米連邦捜査局（ＦＢＩ）を監督するパム・ボンディ司法長官はＦＯＸニュースで、デュガン被告の逮捕を擁護し、不法移民をかくまった場合、「私たちは見つけ出す」と厳しく警告していた。
　起訴状によると、事件は４月、デュガン被告が勤務する裁判所で発生。連邦捜査官が軽犯罪で起訴されていた不法移民の男（３０）を逮捕するために同裁判所を訪れた時、デュガン被告は「明らかにいら立ち、対決的で怒りに満ちた態度を見せ」、不法移民の男を捜査官から遠ざけるために陪審員用のドアを使って法廷から連れ出したとされる。
　不法移民の男は裁判所の建物外に出たが、捜査官から逃走しようとしたところを逮捕された。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2025/05/14-18:10）

A US federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted a Wisconsin judge on charges of concealing a person from immigration agents, after she was taken into custody and accused of helping an undocumented migrant avoid arrest.
US President Donald Trump has delivered on campaign promises to conduct a sweeping crackdown on undocumented migrants since coming to power in January, and has clashed with several courts which have argued he has not followed due process.
Hannah Dugan, a 66-year-old Milwaukee County circuit judge, was arrested last month and faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison on an obstruction charge, if convicted, in a case that has sparked a national uproar.
Dugan is accused of helping a Mexican national escape her courtroom after she learned that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, among other federal officials, were seeking to detain the man in the hallway.
Dugan's arrest set off a torrent of criticism by Democrats and applause by some Republicans.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi defended Dugan's arrest, issuing a chilling warning to those who may harbor illegal aliens: We will find you.
We're sending a very strong message today, Bondi told Fox News at the time.
Charging documents described the incident at Dugan's courthouse in April during which the judge was visibly upset and had a confrontational, angry demeanor when federal agents came to arrest the migrant -- named as Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 30, who was facing misdemeanor charges.
The complaint alleges Dugan escorted Flores-Ruiz out of the courtroom through a door used by jury members in order to keep him from the agents.
Flores-Ruiz made it outside the building, but was arrested while attempting to flee from law enforcement officers, the criminal complaint in the case says.
A number of federal and state judges across the United States have issued rulings that put several of Trump's executive actions on hold, particularly those related to his bid to exercise unprecedented powers in deporting migrants.
The Trump administration has been butting heads with federal judges, rights groups and Democrats who say he has trampled or ignored constitutionally enshrined rights in rushing to deport migrants, sometimes without a hearing.
Dugan, who was elected to the bench in 2016, is expected to plead not guilty at the next hearing, which is scheduled for Thursday.
Judge Dugan asserts her innocence and looks forward to being vindicated in court, her lawyers said in a statement, according to the New York Times.