NYT Hack Goes Mask-Off Defending Judge Protecting Illegal Alien: ‘Sometimes Civil Disobedience Is Necessary’

New York Times opinion writer David Brooks suggested Friday that Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan’s alleged assistance of an illegal alien in evading federal immigration authorities was justified, despite his (albeit tepid) acknowledgment that her actions were illegal.

“Especially on the issue of immigration, there are a lot of people who are appalled by what the administration is doing,” Brooks said on PBS’s NewsHour regarding President Trump’s fulfill his campaign promise of cracking down on illegal immigration. “And there will be times for civil disobedience. And to me, let’s say she did escort this guy out the door. If federal enforcement agencies come to your courtroom and you help a guy escape, that is two things. One, it strikes me as maybe something illegal, but it also strikes me something heroic.”

NYT’s David Brooks doesn’t “know the specific details” of the Judge Dugan case — but says she was “heroic.”

“If the federal enforcement agencies come to your courtroom and you help a guy escape, that is two things…”

“One, it strikes me as maybe something illegal, but it… pic.twitter.com/1Ia7BaxW7R

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) April 27, 2025

“And in times of trouble, then people are sometimes called to do civil disobedience. And in my view, when people do civil disobeying, they have to pay the price,” Brooks added. “That’s part of the heroism of it, frankly. And so you can both think that she shouldn’t have. Legally done this, and that morally protecting somebody against, maybe not even in this case, but in other cases, frankly, a predatory enforcement agency, sometimes civil disobedience is necessary.”

FBI Director Kash Patel shocked both the left and right Friday when he announced the arrest of Dugan, charging the judge with two felonies on allegations of trying to help an illegal aliens avoid arrest after he appeared in her courtroom.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:

According to a 13-page complaint, Dugan, 65, is accused of obstructing a U.S. agency and concealing an individual to prevent an arrest. The two charges carry a maximum penalty of six years in prison and a $350,000 fine, but sentences in cases involving nonviolent offenses typically are much shorter.

Specifically, the complaint says Dugan assisted Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an undocumented Mexican immigrant, avoid being arrested by federal immigration officials at the Milwaukee County Courthouse after he appeared in her courtroom for a pretrial conference on April 18. Flores-Ruiz is facing three misdemeanor battery counts.

Dugan’s arrest unsurprisingly drew sharp criticism from Wisconsin Democrats, who labeled the FBI’s actions as government overreach. Conversely, Wisconsin Republicans stressed accountability, asserting that breaking the law leads to consequences.

“I would advise everyone to cooperate with federal law enforcement and not endanger them and the public by obstructing their efforts to arrest criminals and illegal aliens,” Sen. Ron Johnson said.

Rep. Tom Tiffany, eyeing a gubernatorial bid in 2026, said bluntly: “If you help illegal aliens evade arrest, you will be arrested.”

Legal expert Jonathan Turley had this to say: “Judges have to reinforce respect for the judiciary in their own conduct. That includes showing restraint and respect in relation to the countervailing powers of the Executive Branch. It certainly includes avoiding actions that could be viewed as criminal or unethical in resisting this Administration.”