Arresting Justice: Executive Power vs. Judicial Independence

— April 25, 2025 —

In a healthy democracy, the executive branch respects the independence of the courts. Judges do not face arrest for insisting on due process. Law enforcement agents do not circumvent warrants and constitutional protections. Citizens do not fear retaliation for demanding accountability.

In Donald Trump’s America, with the cowardly silence of enablers like Senator Steve Daines, these basic tenets of democracy are under direct attack.

The recent arrest of Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan should alarm every American who believes in the rule of law. Judge Dugan was charged with obstruction after reportedly insisting that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents produce proper judicial authority before detaining an individual in her courtroom.

Rather than respecting her constitutional duty to ensure due process, the federal government retaliated—arresting a sitting judge for protecting the rights of an individual within the judicial process.

Reports indicate that during a court appearance unrelated to immigration, ICE agents sought to detain Flores Ruiz without presenting a judicial warrant. Judge Dugan, asserting the sanctity of due process and the independence of the judiciary, directed the agents to obtain proper authorization and facilitated the individual's exit through a non-public area of the courthouse. For this, she was arrested and charged—a move many legal experts view as an unprecedented and dangerous encroachment on judicial autonomy.

This is not an isolated incident. It's part of a growing pattern: a lawless executive targeting those who stand in the way of political agendas and undermining the checks and balances that are essential to a functioning democracy.

Since January, we’ve witnessed a relentless campaign to erode the independence of the judiciary, one executive action at a time. Executive orders have been designed to sidestep or nullify judicial decisions. Judges who ruled against Trump’s policies have been smeared as political enemies. Federal law enforcement has been threatened—and in some cases weaponized—for political gain, while pardons and commutations were handed out like political favors rather than acts of justice.

Each time the courts upheld the law over loyalty, the administration stoked public distrust, painting the judiciary as part of a “corrupt system” stacked against “the people.” Protections for immigrants, protestors, and marginalized communities were stripped away by executive fiat, without meaningful oversight.

Each of these actions chips away at the foundation of a free republic. Together, they are part of a coordinated effort to replace the rule of law with the rule of one man—a betrayal of everything our democracy stands for.

Where has Steve Daines stood during these escalating attacks? Silently in the background, doing nothing, currying Trump’s favor while undermining the very judicial integrity he swore to uphold.

Rather than defending the Montana Constitution—which explicitly guarantees the separation of powers and the independence of our courts—Daines has chosen political expediency. He has aligned himself with an administration that treats constitutional checks and balances as obstacles to be bulldozed.

Montana's founders understood better. Our state constitution, forged with care and renewed reverence in 1972, enshrines the judiciary as a coequal branch of government. Article VII declares that the courts shall be "open to every person" and that justice shall be administered "without sale, denial, or delay." It does not carve out exceptions for political loyalty. It does not allow the executive branch to terrorize judges into submission.

In Montana, we have long held a deep cultural respect for the law. From water rights to land disputes, from tribal sovereignty to individual liberties, Montanans understand that without impartial courts, there is no fairness, no freedom, no future.

When federal agents are sent into courtrooms without warrants and when a sitting judge is arrested for upholding constitutional protections, the damage goes beyond one case or one courthouse. It strikes at the heart of what binds us together as a society. It teaches future judges, prosecutors, and citizens that justice is conditional—that rights can be revoked at the whim of political power.

We cannot let that lesson take root in Montana.

We must demand leaders who will stand up for the Constitution, not just when it is politically convenient, but especially when it is hard. We must demand that our representatives, including those who currently sit silent in the Senate, find the courage to say: enough.

We must be ready in every community from Glendive to Missoula to defend our courts and our democracy with the same fierce spirit with which we defend our land, our water, and our way of life.

The arrest of Judge Dugan is not just a warning. It’s a call to action.

Montanans understand better than most that rights, once surrendered, are hard to reclaim. We understand that power must be checked. That liberty must be defended. That justice must never be for sale.

In the 2026 election and every day leading up to it, we must choose leaders who will live up to that Montana standard, not leaders who bow to strongmen, not leaders who shrink from a fight. We need leaders who believe, with all their heart, that the rule of law matters and who will fight to protect it. •

Contact Steve Daines:

Washington, D.C. Office:

• Address: 320 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510

• Phone: (202) 224-2651

• Fax: (202) 228-1236​LegiStorm+5Congress.gov | Library of Congress+5mt.gov+5Senator Steve Daines

Montana Offices:

• Billings: 222 N. 32nd Street, Suite 100, Billings, MT 59101

  • Phone: (406) 245-6822

• Bozeman: 1450 Twin Lakes Avenue, Suite 201A, Bozeman, MT 59718

  • Phone: (406) 587-3446

• Great Falls: 104 4th Street North, Suite 302, Great Falls, MT 59401

  • Phone: (406) 453-0148

• Helena: 30 West 14th Street, Suite 206, Helena, MT 59601

  • Phone: (406) 443-3189

• Kalispell: 121 Financial Drive, Suite 127, Kalispell, MT 59901

  • Phone: (406) 257-3765

• Missoula: 218 East Front Street, Suite 103, Missoula, MT 59802

  • Phone: (406) 549-8198

• Sidney: 609 S. Central Ave., Suite 4, Sidney, MT 59270

  • Phone: (406) 482-9010​

Online Contact:

• Email Contact Form: https://www.daines.senate.gov/services/email-steve/