By SCOTT BAUER, Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Trump administration argued Monday that charges should not be dropped against a Wisconsin judge who was indicted for allegedly helping a man who is in the country evade U.S. immigration agents seeking to arrest him in her courthouse.

Attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice urged a federal judge to reject a motion filed by Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan seeking to dismiss the charges against her, saying doing so would be “unprecedented” and allow judges to be above the law.

Dugan faces a July 21 trial in the case that escalated a clash between Trump’s administration and opponents over the Republican president’s sweeping immigration crackdown. Trump critics contend that Dugan’s arrest went too far and that the administration is trying to make an example out of her to discourage judicial opposition to the crackdown.

The accusations against Dugan

Dugan is charged with concealing an individual to prevent arrest, a misdemeanor, and obstruction, which is a felony. Prosecutors say she escorted Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 31, and his lawyer out of her courtroom through a back door on April 18 after learning that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were in the courthouse seeking to arrest him for being in the country illegally. She could face up to six years in prison and a $350,000 fine if convicted on both counts.

Her attorneys say she’s innocent. They filed a motion last month to dismiss the case, saying she was acting in her official capacity as a judge and therefore is immune to prosecution. They also maintain that the federal government violated Wisconsin’s sovereignty by disrupting a state courtroom and prosecuting a state judge.

Trump administration response

Justice Department attorneys responded in a court filing Monday, saying dismissing the charges against the judge on the grounds that she is immune would be unprecedented and would ignore “well-established law that has long permitted judges to be prosecuted for crimes they commit.”

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“Such a ruling would give state court judges carte blanche to interfere with valid law enforcement actions by federal agents in public hallways of a courthouse, and perhaps even beyond,” Justice Department attorneys argued. “Dugan’s desired ruling would, in essence, say that judges are ‘above the law,’ and uniquely entitled to interfere with federal law enforcement.”

Dugan’s attorney, Craig Mastantuono, did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

In her motion to dismiss, Dugan argued that her conduct amounted to directing people’s movement in and around her courtroom, and that she enjoys legal immunity for official acts she performs as a judge.

She also accused the federal government of violating Wisconsin’s sovereignty by disrupting a state courtroom and prosecuting a state judge.

Dugan’s case is similar to one brought during the first Trump administration against a Massachusetts judge, who was accused of helping a man sneak out a courthouse back door to evade a waiting immigration enforcement agent. That case was eventually dismissed.

The case background

According to prosecutors, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz illegally reentered the U.S. after being deported in 2013. He was charged in March with misdemeanor domestic violence in Milwaukee County and was in Dugan’s courtroom for a hearing in that case on April 18.

Dugan’s clerk alerted her that immigration agents were in the courthouse looking to arrest Flores-Ruiz, prosecutors allege in court documents. According to an affidavit, Dugan became visibly angry at the agents’ arrival and called the situation “absurd.” After discussing the warrant for Flores-Ruiz’s arrest with the agents, Dugan demanded that they speak with the chief judge and led them away from the courtroom.

She then returned to the courtroom, was heard saying something to the effect of “wait, come with me,” and then showed Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a back door, the affidavit says. The immigration agents eventually detained Flores-Ruiz outside the building following a foot chase.

Dugan, 66, was arrested by the FBI on April 25 at the courthouse. A grand jury indicted Dugan on May 13 and she pleaded not guilty on May 15.

Dugan defense fund

A legal defense fund created by Dugan supporters to help pay for her high-profile defense attorneys has raised more than $137,000 in three weeks from more than 2,800 donors.

Her legal team includes former U.S. Attorney Steve Biskupic and former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement. Both were appointed by Republican presidents. She has also hired prominent attorneys in Milwaukee and Madison.

“This is an impressive show of support for the defense fund, highlighting that the public believes in protecting a fair and independent judiciary,” former Supreme Court Justice Janine Geske, the fund’s trustee, said Monday. “The fund will continue to raise grassroots donations and uphold strict guidelines to ensure transparency and accountability.”

Dugan is not required to list the donor names until she submits her annual financial disclosure form, which is due in April. Numerous people are prohibited from donating, including Milwaukee County residents; attorneys who practice in the county; lobbyists; judges; parties with pending matters before any Milwaukee County judge; and county employees.

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs’ recent ex-girlfriend told Combs that she cried for three days after reading R&B artist Casandra “Cassie” Ventura’s 2023 lawsuit against the music mogul, a case that described hundreds of drug-laced marathon sex sessions with Combs and other men as “horrific encounters.”

The woman, who is known in court by the pseudonym Jane, testified Monday that she felt like she was “reading my own sexual trauma” as she read the lawsuit, which was settled within a day for $20 million.

She read aloud in Manhattan federal court a text message that she sent Combs three days after the lawsuit was filed in November 2023. She said that she had been crying for three days and felt nauseated.

She said three pages of the lawsuit addressing what Cassie referred to as “freak-offs” and what Jane has called “hotel nights” followed her experience with the Bad Boy Entertainment founder “word for word, exactly my experience.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey raised the subject of the lawsuit as Jane testified for a third day about her experiences with Combs for over three years until his arrest last September.

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Cassie testified for four days earlier in the trial, saying she engaged in the weekly sexual performances as Combs mostly watched or filmed her sexual activities with male sex workers in sessions that often lasted for days. Cassie dated Combs for nearly 11 years, ending in 2018.

Combs has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges that could put him in prison from 15 years to life if he is convicted.

Prior to bringing up Cassie’s lawsuit on Monday, Comey elicited from Jane that she had protested the way Combs was treating her in the weeks before Cassie sued.

She read aloud for the jury hundreds of text messages that she had exchanged with Combs, including some in which she complained that he seemed to be forcing her into the sexual encounters by threatening to take away her Los Angeles home. He had begun paying for the residence months earlier.

She pleaded with him to recognize the damage the sex marathons were doing to her, writing: “I am not an animal.”

Jane’s testimony was expected to fill the bulk of the trial’s fifth week, as prosecutors move closer to finishing the presentation of their evidence before the defense gets its turn.

As in her previous two days on the stand last week, Jane became emotional and cried briefly on Monday, but was mostly composed as she discussed her experiences with a man she said she loved.

She acknowledged that she had reviewed some of the sex sessions with prosecutors prior to beginning testimony last Thursday. Comey asked her what she saw on them.

“I saw me,” she responded, before adding: “following a pattern.”

She added that with the “majority of these tapes it was like the same show over and over again.”

Jane said that after she expressed her frustrations and desire to only have sexual relations with Combs, the verbal fights between them would sometimes be resolved when he would say all the things she wanted to hear and promise to spend time with her without a “hotel night.”

Then, she said, when she saw Cassie’s lawsuit, “I almost fainted.”

By AMY TAXIN and DAMIAN DOVARGANES, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California union leader has been charged with conspiring to impede an officer during a demonstration over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, authorities said Monday.

David Huerta, 58, is being held in federal custody in downtown Los Angeles and is expected to attend a bond hearing later Monday, federal prosecutors said.

Huerta is president of Service Employees International Union California, which represents thousands of janitors, security officers and other workers in the state.

The SEIU held a large rally in downtown Los Angeles Monday in support of Huerta and to stand up for his right to observe and document law enforcement activity. Union leaders from across the state led the crowd in chants of “Free Huerta now!”

Demonstrations were also planned in at least a dozen cities, from Boston to Denver.

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The union has been a strong Democratic supporter, and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and California’s two Democratic senators wrote a letter to federal officials demanding answers regarding Huerta’s arrest. California Sen. Adam Schiff was at the court ahead of Huerta’s hearing.

“It is deeply troubling that a U.S. citizen, union leader, and upstanding member of the Los Angeles community continues to be detained by the federal government for exercising his rights to observe immigration enforcement,” the senators wrote.

Protests broke out last week in response to reports of immigration raids in the nation’s second-largest city. Tensions have since escalated with thousands of protesters taking to the streets after Trump took the extraordinary move of deploying the National Guard. Demonstrators blocked a major freeway and set self-driving cars on fire as law enforcement used tear gas and rubber bullets to control the crowd.

Huerta was arrested Friday when law enforcement officers were executing a federal search warrant at a Los Angeles business suspected of hiring illegal immigrants and falsifying employment papers, a special agent for Homeland Security Investigations, which is part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, wrote in a court filing.

A crowd of people including Huerta gathered outside the business yelling at the officers. Huerta sat down in front of a vehicular gate and encouraged others to walk in circles to try to prevent law enforcement from going in or out, the agent wrote, adding it was clear “he and the others had planned in advance of arrival to disrupt the operation.”

A law enforcement officer approached Huerta and told him to leave, then put his hands on Huerta to move him out of the way of a vehicle, the agent wrote. Huerta pushed back and the officer pushed Huerta to the ground and arrested him, according to the filing.

“Let me be clear: I don’t care who you are—if you impede federal agents, you will be arrested and prosecuted,” Bill Essayli, U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles, said in a post on X. “No one has the right to assault, obstruct, or interfere with federal authorities carrying out their duties.”

Messages left for Huerta’s attorney, Marilyn Bednarski, have not been returned.

The SEIU said in a statement that the union condemns the immigration raids and will continue to protect workers’ rights.

“We demand David Huerta’s immediate release and an end to these abusive workplace raids,” said April Verrett, SEIU’s international president.

Taxin reported from Santa Ana, Calif.

By SAFIYAH RIDDLE and CHARLOTTE KRAMON, Associated Press

President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles in response to immigration protests is the latest in a long history of U.S. elected officials sending troops in hopes of thwarting unrest connected to civil rights protests.

National Guard troops are typically deployed for a variety of emergencies and natural disasters with the permission of governors in responding states, but Trump, a Republican, sent about 1,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles despite the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, both Democrats.

Confrontations began Friday when dozens of protesters gathered outside a federal detention center demanding the release of more than 40 people arrested by federal immigration authorities across Los Angeles, as part of Trump’s mass deportation campaign.

Trump said that federalizing the troops on Saturday was necessary to “address the lawlessness” in California. Newsom said Trump’s order was a “complete overreaction,” used to “purposely inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.”

Some of the previous National Guard deployments have preserved peace amid violent crackdowns from local law enforcement or threats from vigilantes, but sometimes they have intensified tensions among people who were protesting for civil rights or racial equality.

FILE — In this June 4, 2020 file photo a member of the California National Guard stands in front of a mural depicting George Floyd in Los Angeles. On Thursday June 11, 2020, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Administration announced it cost more than $24 million to deploy 8,000 National Guard members for 18 days during the recent protests of racial injustice inspired by the death of Floyd on May 25 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

On rare occasion, presidents have invoked an 18th-century wartime law called the Insurrection Act, which is the main legal mechanism that a president can use to activate the military or National Guard during times of rebellion or unrest. Other times they relied on a similar federal law that allows the president to federalize National Guard troops under certain circumstances, which is what Trump did on Saturday.

Here is a look at some of the most notable deployments:

George Floyd protests in Los Angeles in 2020

Almost five years ago, Newsom deployed approximately 8,000 National Guard troops to quell protests over racial injustice inspired by the death of George Floyd in Minnesota. Well over half of the troops deployed in California were sent to Los Angeles County, where police arrested more than 3,000 people. City officials at the time, including then-Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, supported Newsom’s decision.

Members of the National Guard watch as demonstrators march along Hollywood Boulevard on Tuesday, June 2, 2020, in Los Angeles during a protest over the death of George Floyd who died May 25 after he was restrained by Minneapolis police. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

Rodney King protests in 1992

Some have compared Trump’s decision on Saturday to George H.W. Bush’s use of the Insurrection Act to respond to riots in Los Angeles in 1992, after the acquittal of white police officers who were videotaped beating Black motorist Rodney King. In just six days the protests became one of the deadliest race riots in American history, with 63 people dying, nine of whom were killed by police.

FILE – President George H.W. Bush addresses the nation on May 1, 1992, from the Oval Office in Washington. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook, File)

Syreeta Danley, a teacher from South Central Los Angeles, said she vividly remembers as a teen seeing black smoke from her porch during the 1992 uprisings.

Danley said that at the time it seemed like law enforcement cared more about property damage affecting wealthier neighborhoods than the misconduct that precipitated the unrest.

She said some people in her neighborhood were still more afraid of the police than the National Guard because once the troops left, local police “had the green light to continue brutalizing people.”

FILE – A fire burns out of control at the corner of 67th Street and West Boulevard in South Central Los Angeles, on April 30, 1992. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

The National Guard can enforce curfews like they did in 1992, but that won’t stop people from showing up to protest, Danley said.

“I have lived long enough to know that people will push back, and I’m here for it,” Danley said.

Watts protests in 1965

There were deadly protests in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles in 1965 in response to pent-up anger over an abusive police force and lack of resources for the community. Over 30 people were killed — two-thirds of whom were shot by police or National Guard troops. Many say the neighborhood has never fully recovered from fires that leveled hundreds of buildings.

Integration protests in the 1950-1960s

In 1956, the governor of Tennessee called the state’s troops to help enforce integration in Clinton, Tennessee, after white supremacists violently resisted federal orders to desegregate.

President Dwight Eisenhower called the Arkansas National Guard and the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army in 1957 to escort nine Black students as they integrated a previously white-only school.

FILE – A civil rights march is conducted on Sept. 4, 1966 in close quarters on Cicero Ave., a main street of this suburb of Chicago. At left, the police; then National Guardsmen with bayonets on rifles, then marchers, then crowd. (AP Photo, file)

A few years later, the Maryland National Guard remained in the small town of Cambridge for two years after Maryland’s Democratic Gov. J Millard Tawes in 1963 called in troops to mediate violent clashes between white mobs and Black protesters demanding desegregation.

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Selma, Alabama, voting rights protest in 1965

National Guard troops played a pivotal role in the march often credited with pressuring the passage of Voting Rights Act of 1965, when nonviolent protesters — including the late congressman John Lewis — calling for the right to vote were brutally assaulted by Alabama State Troopers in Selma, Alabama, in 1965.

Two weeks later, then-President Lyndon B. Johnson sent National Guard troops to escort thousands of protesters along the 50-mile (81-kilometer) march to the state Capitol. Johnson’s decision was at odds with then-Gov. George Wallace who staunchly supported segregation.

Riddle is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.