Press Releases

Washington, D.C. (April 25, 2025)—Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Committee on the Judiciary, issued the following statement after Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel said agents arrested a county judge in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on charges of obstructing an immigration arrest: 

“Americans are watching with outrage the stunning news that Trump’s FBI has arrested a sitting judge in Milwaukee for alleged obstruction of an immigration arrest. While all the facts are not yet in, the implications of this arrest are chilling. This is a drastic escalation and dangerous new front in Trump’s authoritarian campaign of trying to bully, intimidate, and impeach judges who won’t follow his dictates.  We must do whatever we can to defend the independent judiciary in America.

“As Judge Wilkinson, a conservative Reagan appointee to the Fourth Circuit reminded us last week, this Administration has shown brazen contempt for the judiciary. They are flouting court orders on a daily basis and trying to impeach judges who have entered injunctions against their lawlessness. This contempt for the judicial function is now being weaponized, with the Administration literally arresting a judge over alleged defiance.

“Every American should be deeply troubled by this massive escalation, and Judiciary Democrats are standing strong for judicial independence. This is an unmistakable descent further into authoritarian chaos.”