Hannah Dugan, the Wisconsin judge convicted last month of felony obstruction for helping an immigrant evade federal officers, has formally resigned from the bench, sending a resignation letter to Tony Evers on Saturday as Republican lawmakers prepared impeachment proceedings.

Dugan’s resignation comes less than a month after a federal jury found her guilty of obstructing immigration officers during an April 2025 incident at the Milwaukee County courthouse. Republicans had signaled for weeks that impeachment was imminent following the Dec. 19 conviction, arguing that her continued presence on the bench violated the state constitution.

A spokesperson for Evers confirmed receipt of the letter and said the governor would move quickly to fill the vacancy.

In her resignation, Dugan defended her decade-long judicial record, writing that she had handled thousands of cases with a commitment to fairness, dignity, and courtroom safety. But she acknowledged that the criminal case against her had grown into a political and institutional burden.

“As you know, I am the subject of unprecedented federal legal proceedings, which are far from concluded but which present immense and complex challenges that threaten the independence of our judiciary,” Dugan wrote. “I am pursuing this fight for myself and for our independent judiciary.”

The case that ended her tenure began on April 18, when federal immigration officers arrived at the Milwaukee County courthouse seeking to arrest 31-year-old Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a Mexican national accused of illegally reentering the United States and scheduled to appear before Dugan on a state battery charge.

According to prosecutors, Dugan confronted the agents outside her courtroom and directed them to consult Milwaukee County Chief Judge Carl Ashley, arguing that their administrative warrant was insufficient for an arrest. After the agents left the immediate area, Dugan escorted Flores-Ruiz and his attorney through a private jury door, away from the public corridor.

Agents later spotted Flores-Ruiz inside the courthouse, chased him on foot, and arrested him outside the building. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced in November that Flores-Ruiz had been deported.

Federal prosecutors charged Dugan with obstruction, accusing her of deliberately interfering with an immigration arrest. A jury agreed, convicting her on felony charges in a case that quickly became a political flashpoint.

Donald Trump repeatedly highlighted the prosecution as part of his administration’s sweeping immigration crackdown, framing the conviction as evidence that no one, including judges, was above immigration enforcement. Democrats countered that the case was designed to intimidate judges and blunt judicial resistance to federal immigration operations.

Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos praised Dugan’s resignation, calling it constitutionally necessary. “I’m glad Dugan did the right thing by resigning and followed the clear direction from the Wisconsin Constitution,” Vos said.

Democrats struck a different tone. Ann Jacobs, chair of the Wisconsin Elections Commission board, said she agreed with Dugan’s assessment that Milwaukee deserved stability on the bench while the legal battle continues.

“Despite her situation, she is ever the champion of justice, wanting to remove the judiciary from a political battle over her fate,” Jacobs wrote on X. “I’m sure this is terribly hard for her but she is true to her faith and her principles.”

Dugan has indicated she will continue fighting her conviction through the courts, but her resignation brings an abrupt end to her judicial career and closes one chapter in a case that has reshaped the fault lines between immigration enforcement, the courts, and politics in Wisconsin.