When a former judge was escorted out of his New Mexico residence in handcuffs, many leftists probably thought they had been gifted a fresh angle on the “Trump is a dictator” narrative. The morning after that April 24 incident, a second judge was put in handcuffs, in Wisconsin. Already, it is beginning to appear that some Democratic politicians are going to ensnare themselves as they did with the deported El Salvadoran, Kilmar Abrego Garcia: the “Maryland man.”
Siding with lawbreakers, or suspected lawbreakers, while ignoring the will of a significant majority of Americans is politically awkward enough. Now, once again, a number of leftist lawmakers are setting themselves up to defend the indefensible – and all because their hatred of President Trump has robbed them of the ability to deal reasonably and rationally with any cultural issue or policy position.
Judge Arrested for Preventing an Arrest
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan, the second judge arrested in as many days, allegedly facilitated the escape, from her own courtroom, of Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an illegal alien from Mexico with a history of violence. Flores-Ruiz was at the courthouse for a pre-trial conference when federal agents arrived to detain him. Dugan reportedly obstructed the agents’ search and whisked Flores-Ruiz away to a back door. He was chased down in the street by the agents shortly thereafter.
Both judges, it appears, have committed federal crimes. Joel Cano, the former New Mexico judge arrested along with his wife, was apparently harboring an illegal alien, Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, in his home. Cano also reportedly admitted to FBI agents that he destroyed a cellphone belonging to the Venezuelan because it had incriminating photos on it, including pictures of Ortega-Lopez, allegedly a Tren de Aragua gang member, with firearms.
Ortega-Lopez was arrested in late February at Cano’s home. In March, the magistrate judge resigned and has since been permanently barred from serving on the bench by the New Mexico Supreme Court. Cano faces charges of harboring three alleged Tren de Aragua members and evidence tampering. Dugan has been charged with “obstructing and impeding a proceeding before a department or agency of the United States" and "concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest."
Much of the left’s reaction to these arrests has been astounding, to say the least. Once again, several progressives have shown they will leap headlong into any fight with President Trump, even if it means they find themselves defending something morally repugnant or legally questionable.
No One Is Buying What They Are Selling
As could have been expected, some Democratic officeholders rushed to express their outrage on X. Also, as expected, they attempted to gaslight Americans by spinning a story labeling Trump as a tyrant rather than face the fact that a judge was arrested for allegedly committing one or more felonies.
“The FBI arrested a Wisconsin judge who stood up for due process for immigrants,” wrote Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA). “This is unprecedented. All of us need to stand up and speak out against arresting judges in this country. We are living in dangerous times.”
This is not the first (or even the second) time this has happened. In 2019, a Massachusetts District Court judge was indicted, along with another officer of the court, after attempting to help an illegal alien evade arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) decided to ignore the circumstances of the cases altogether. “Understand what this is: If Kash Patel and Donald Trump don’t like a judge, they think they can arrest them,” she posted. “This is stunning — we must stand up to this blatant power grab.”
It’s quite likely that Trump never heard of either judge arrested this past week until after the fact, and FBI Director Kash Patel may only have been vaguely aware of Cano’s existence because of an ongoing investigation relating to the illegal alien arrested at his residence.
Conservatives on X wasted no time reminding their left-wing acquaintances that “no one is above the law,” as the left has said numerous times since Donald Trump first walked into the Oval Office as President in 2017. That tiresome six-word phrase was often followed by, “Not even the president.” Yet the other senator from Minnesota, Amy Klobuchar – even after conceding that “we don’t have all the details,” described Judge Dugan’s arrest as “a grave step” that “undermines our system of checks and balances.” The X account called Republicans against Trump also weighed in: “Judges don’t get arrested in a functioning democracy.” The account did not elaborate on how a democracy functions if judges are, as the post suggests, entirely immune to the criminal justice system.
It seems, then, that presidents are not above the law, but judges are, in the eyes of Trump’s detractors.
If there were a cake to take, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) took it by writing: “The Trump Administration just arrested a sitting judge. This is what happens in authoritarian countries. Stand up now—or lose the power to do so later. The administration must drop all charges and respect separation of powers.”
The Trump administration’s every act, just about, since January, has been blocked by federal judges. These judges have interfered in almost every aspect of executive branch policy. It appears that respect for the separation of powers is not something that’s very high on the list of things about which many leftists care.
Misreading America – Again
This is another fight Trump’s political enemies will probably lose, at least in the arena of public opinion. Few Americans, it is fair to assume, will like the idea that a judge can act with impunity, even when the evidence suggests the judge actively aided a violent illegal alien. Americans traditionally have been known for a basic sense of fairness and a sense that, indeed, no one should be above the law – especially those charged with enforcing it and applying it to suspected lawbreakers.
Several anti-Trumpers are now beginning to realize that beatifying a deported illegal alien suspected of both domestic abuse and being a member of MS-13 was not the best idea. Assuming both these judges are brought to trial, the evidence will be aired for all to see. And assuming the evidence against them is compelling, it will be interesting to see how long some Democrats continue trying to pretend the judges were only arrested because Trump is a dictator. Pulling one’s hand from a fire is the sane thing to do. Holding it there and waiting for the burning to stop is not.
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