Judge arrested for allegedly helping undocumented immigrant 'evade arrest': LIVE

A Milwaukee County circuit judge was arrested by the FBI over allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant evade arrest, authorities said.

Judge Hannah Dugan was charged with two criminal counts of "obstructing and impeding a proceeding before a department or agency of the United States" and "concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest," according to a criminal complaint unsealed Friday.

FBI Director Kash Patel announced the arrest earlier Friday in a social media post, which was then deleted.

"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 said in the since-deleted post. "We believe 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."

According to the complaint, Dugan on April 18 escorted Flores Ruiz and his counsel out of the courtroom through a jury door after she was told by federal officers from an ICE task force that they had an administrative warrant for the immigrant's arrest.

Dugan was arrested Friday morning at the courthouse, a law enforcement official confirmed to ABC News. The Department of Justice declined to comment further on Patel's now-deleted post on X.

Dugan appeared in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin on Friday on the two charges. She was released on her own recognizance.

Her attorney Craig Mastantuono said in court, "Judge Dugan wholeheartedly protests the arrest and believes it was not made in the interests of public safety."

Flores Ruiz was arrested shortly after he fled the courthouse.

"Thankfully our agents chased down the perp on foot and he's been in custody since, but the Judge's obstruction created increased danger to the public," Patel said in the deleted post.

Flores Ruiz's complaint notes that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement task force planned to arrest him on April 18 at the Milwaukee County Courthouse.

"They observed FLORES-Ruiz arrive and enter the courtroom with his attorney. At some point, FLORES-Ruiz apparently learned that ICE ERO intended to arrest him and fled the building," the complaint says. "Task force members located FLORES-Ruiz outside the courthouse and approached him. FLORES-Ruiz then ran from the task force members and was eventually apprehended a short distance away."

The account aligns with county court records showing Flores Ruiz was set to appear in court April 18 before Dugan for a pretrial conference in a case where he has been charged with three misdemeanor counts of battery/domestic abuse connected to an incident on March 12.

If convicted on the charges, Dugan could face up to six years in prison.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.