Trump and his operatives have flooded the media with accusations, threats, and arrests aimed at public officials who defied his political agenda. But none of the attacks on Wisconsin’s leadership were grounded in legitimate law enforcement.
These were acts of retaliation against Governor Tony Evers and Judge Hannah Dugan. They were meant to intimidate, not to uphold the law. But the law has become the rallying cry of Trump’s loyalists, a tool invoked with fury when aimed at their enemies, and ignored when broken by their own.
If accountability is truly the goal, then it must be applied in both directions. That begins with naming the actual crimes committed, not by the accused but by those wielding federal power to silence them.
Trump’s allies have demanded arrests, claiming the rule of law must be upheld, even when the charges are false and the targets are innocent. Governor Tony Evers issued legal guidance. Judge Hannah Dugan followed courtroom procedure.
Neither has been convicted of anything. But in the new authoritarian playbook, dissent is guilt, and federal power is the weapon of enforcement. As Trump’s operatives unleash threats and arrests against public officials, his supporters cheer with cries of accountability.
The editorial staff of “Milwaukee Independent” chose to take that demand seriously by applying it not to those falsely accused, but to those who demonstrably violated the law. While not attorneys or law enforcement officials, the editors conducted a thorough review of applicable federal criminal statutes.
Under the same flimsy threshold of “probable cause” that was used to justify Judge Dugan’s arrest, the actions carried out by Trump’s operatives meet, and in several cases exceed, that legal bar.
This review was based on publicly available facts and federal statutes. The legal analysis presented reflects an editorial conclusion, not a formal legal determination.
What follows is a breakdown of how federal power was used unlawfully against each official, and which criminal statutes were violated by Trump’s enforcers in the process.
If the law truly matters, then these are the people who should be in handcuffs.
VIOLATIONS AGAINST GOVERNOR TONY EVERS
Governor Evers issued internal guidance to state employees instructing them to consult legal counsel before responding to immigration enforcement requests. The memo, grounded in constitutional protections and legal precedent, was not a refusal to cooperate. It was an affirmation of lawful rights. In response, Trump’s allies threatened to arrest him.
Law Broken: 18 U.S. Code § 242 – Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law: Threatening a sitting governor with arrest for executing lawful executive functions is a criminal abuse of power.
Trump’s “border czar,” Tom Homan, made public statements calling for the prosecution of Governor Evers, warning ominously of what was coming next. This was not isolated rhetoric. Republican lawmakers echoed the sentiment by posting doctored images of Governor Evers in handcuffs and using state platforms to amplify the threat.
Law Broken: 18 U.S. Code § 241 – Conspiracy Against Rights: Coordinating threats and public intimidation against an elected official for exercising legal authority is a federal conspiracy.
The threats were not just about punishment, they were meant to silence dissent. By weaponizing fear, Trump’s operatives tried to turn constitutional governance into a criminal act. They sought to redefine public duty as unlawful defiance.
Law Broken: 18 U.S. Code § 371 – Conspiracy to Commit Offense or Defraud the United States: When federal actors conspire to misuse power for political retaliation, they violate the integrity of lawful government.
Federal officials and political operatives targeted Governor Evers for issuing lawful state guidance. The public threats of arrest, paired with orchestrated media campaigns portraying him as a criminal, were not isolated incidents. They were part of a coordinated effort to punish an elected official for performing his constitutional duties, a textbook example of conspiracy under this statute.
VIOLATIONS AGAINST JUDGE HANNAH DUGAN
Judge Dugan was arrested by the FBI following a courtroom incident in which she allowed an undocumented man and his attorney to exit through a jury door. No judicial warrant was presented, and ICE agents had no legal order to enter the courtroom to detain. Her action followed normal courtroom discretion. The arrest had no legal basis.
Law Broken: 18 U.S. Code § 1503 – Influencing or injuring officer or juror: Retaliating against a judge for decisions made during court proceedings is obstruction of justice.
Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested after exercising courtroom discretion in a legal setting. The staged public arrest and use of leg shackles in federal court were not about law enforcement. They were about sending a warning. Her detention served no legal purpose, it was federal power used to intimidate the judiciary.
Law Broken: Fourth Amendment – U.S. Constitution: Arresting a judge without a warrant or probable cause violates protections against unlawful seizure.
There was no crime. There was no harboring. The individual in question left through a visible, unsecured exit under court supervision, walked past ICE agents, took an elevator with an ICE agent who took no action to arrest the individual who was within an arm’s reach. To call that a crime, and to detain a judge over it, is to turn lawful conduct into a pretext for arrest. That is not enforcement. That is coercion.
Law Broken: 18 U.S. Code § 242 – Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law: Using arrest power to punish a judge for her lawful actions in court violates her constitutional rights and judicial independence.
The timing and nature of the arrest, coming just days before coordinated threats against Governor Evers, shows a pattern. This was not isolated. It was sequential, intentional, and political.
Law Broken: 18 U.S. Code § 241 – Conspiracy Against Rights: A pattern of retaliation carried out through government channels against public officials constitutes criminal conspiracy.
Judge Dugan was arrested after federal officials acted in concert to reframe a routine courtroom decision as criminal conduct. This response was carried out through official channels, making the retaliation institutional, not incidental.
All of these actions, against both Governor Evers and Judge Dugan, are real. The claims and charges made against them were not. The conduct of Trump’s allies is not a policy dispute. It is not hardball politics. It is the calculated use of federal institutions to intimidate, humiliate, and punish.
And under the rule of law, that is a crime.
© Photo
Lee Matz, Evan Vucci (AP), Alex Brandon (AP), and Sebra (via Shutterstock)
