Democrat Judge Dodges Prison For Obstructing An Arrest After I Was Jailed For Defending Trump
By Peter Navarro | The Federalist | July 16, 2026
Last week, former Milwaukee judge Hannah Dugan received her punishment for a federal felony charge. The jury found she obstructed an immigration arrest by ushering an illegal alien — in her courtroom on a battery charge — out a private door while federal agents waited in the hallway.
The sentencing guidelines called for 15 to 21 months in prison. Prosecutors noted the average obstruction sentence runs 16 months.
Her sentence: a $5,000 fine. No prison time. Not even probation.
I know something about federal sentencing, because I went through it from the other side of the political aisle. In 2023, I was convicted of two misdemeanor counts of contempt of Congress — each carrying a maximum of one year in prison — for honoring executive privilege at the direction of the President of the United States.
The prosecution broke with roughly half a century of Justice Department policy holding that senior presidential advisers cannot be prosecuted for contempt in these circumstances. My appeal remains pending.
For those misdemeanors, I was sentenced to four months in federal prison. I served every day of it, at age 74, after the courts refused to let me remain free pending appeal. I paid a $9,500 fine — nearly double Dugan’s.
Let’s sit with that comparison.
Navarro: A first-of-its-kind misdemeanor rooted in a constitutional dispute between Congress and the presidency — double the fine plus prison, with no mercy and no delay.