‘Vile!’: Trump Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Uses Bully Pulpit to Declare Open Season on Judges, Sparking Online Firestorm
On April 25, the Trump administration made one of its highest-profile arrests in its immigration crackdown, a person who is no less than Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan.
The 65-year-old was apprehended by the FBI and charged with two federal felonies, obstruction and concealing an individual from arrest. Soon afterward, Trump mouthpiece Karoline Leavitt made the shocking statement that no U.S. judge would be safe from the long arm of the Trump administration, even a Supreme Court justice.
The arrest is the latest escalation toward a looming “constitutional crisis” that pundits have been predicting from the outset of the Trump administration, as he continues to challenge the judicial branch’s power as part of the three-way system of checks and balances the nation’s Founding Fathers enshrined in the Constitution more than two centuries ago.
Leavitt has frequently used her bully pulpit to rant about rulings against Trump and defend his unprecedented power grabs.
In the wake of Judge William Alsup’s order to reinstate fired probationary federal employees, Leavitt belittled certain U.S. district judges as “judicial activists,” “low-level,” and “completely absurd.”
After Trump falsely declared that Joe Biden’s pardons were void because the 46th president might have signed them using an autopen, the press secretary scrambled to back him up, slandering the former president as “cognitively impaired.”
This time, Leavitt outdid herself with her stunning response to a question from Fox News’ Peter Doocy, confirming that Trump is open to arresting Supreme Court justices.
“You guys arrested a Milwaukee County Circuit judge for allegedly helping illegal immigrants get away,” he stated. “As you guys look at other judges, would you ever arrest somebody higher up on the judicial food chain, like a federal judge or even a Supreme Court justice?”
“That’s a hypothetical question, again I defer you to the Department of Justice for individuals that they are looking at or individual cases. But let’s be clear about what this judge did: She obstructed federal law enforcement who were looking for an illegal alien in her courthouse. She showed that illegal alien the door to evade law enforcement officials. That is a clear-cut case of obstruction,” Leavitt replied.
“And so anyone who is breaking the law or obstructing federal law enforcement officials from doing their jobs is putting theirselves at risk of being prosecuted, absolutely.”
According to the complaint, Judge Dugan sent the man in question, Mexican national Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, out of a jury door before his hearing on battery charges after she learned that ICE agents were waiting outside the courtroom. She told the agents they needed a judicial warrant first and to speak with the chief judge of Milwaukee County.
Dugan Flores-Ruiz exited into a public hallway at the courthouse, passing by a task force composed of ICE, FBI, and DEA agents before entering an elevator with his attorney, and surprisingly, one of the agents who then saw them exit the building. Flores-Ruiz has since been arrested and is currently being held in the Ozaukee County jail in Port Washington, Wisconsin.
Dugan has been on the bench for nearly a decade and has spent most of her career helping the poor and specializing in housing and public benefits. Her term is set to end in 2028. She is currently not in jail but was released on her own recognizance and could face up to six years in prison and a $350,000 fine, reported The New York Times.
A photo of Dugan’s “perp walk” is now circulating on social media thanks to FBI Director Kash Patel, who posted it on X with the caption, “No one is above the law.” But responses are mixed, with many finding the circumstances unsettling. “This is clearly to intimidate judges,” replied one commenter, followed by, “Your boss has 34 unfulfilled felonies.”
Leavitt’s remarks on Monday also drew mixed reactions, with some agreeing that if a judge commits a crime, then he or she should face the consequences. However, some viewers mocked the phrasing, highlighting it as evasive or an example of political spin, given Leavitt’s previous aversion to the judicial branch.
“Of course they would. They’re itching to do it. Vile,” one person wrote. “Judicial branch is all but dead. Trump and this administration are above the law. They have already defied the Supreme Court ruling,” another person wrote.