Since early 2025, political arrests under the Trump administration have targeted a sitting congresswoman, a big-city mayor, a state court judge, a U.S. senator, and a citywide elected officeholder, each in an incident tied to immigration enforcement. All are Democrats. Federal officials say they are enforcing the law against people who obstructed agents; the officials and their defenders call the cases political retaliation. Outcomes so far have cut both ways: one felony conviction, one acquittal, one dropped charge, one senator never charged, and one congresswoman facing trial on counts carrying up to 17 years in prison.
Who Was Arrested and What Happened
Before the case-by-case detail, the short version:
- Judge Hannah Dugan (Milwaukee County Circuit Court): arrested April 25, 2025; convicted of felony obstruction in December 2025; resigned from the bench; sentencing July 8, 2026.
- Mayor Ras Baraka (Newark): arrested May 9, 2025; trespassing charge dropped 13 days later; now suing the prosecutor.
- Rep. LaMonica McIver (New Jersey): indicted June 10, 2025, on three counts of forcibly impeding federal officers; pleaded not guilty; trial set for November 10, 2026.
- Sen. Alex Padilla (California): forcibly removed and handcuffed at a DHS press conference on June 12, 2025; never charged.
- Brad Lander (then NYC Comptroller): arrested June 17, 2025; charged with misdemeanor obstruction; acquitted at trial June 11, 2026.
- A staffer in Rep. Jerry Nadler’s office: handcuffed by Federal Protective Service agents on May 28, 2025; released without charges.
Judge Hannah Dugan
The first arrest came in late April 2025. The FBI took Hannah Dugan into custody on April 25, 2025, over an incident the week before. On April 18, ICE agents arrived at the Milwaukee County courthouse to arrest Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, who was appearing before Dugan on a misdemeanor battery charge. Prosecutors alleged that Dugan directed the agents to the chief judge’s office, rushed the case, and then sent Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out through a non-public jury door to evade the agents.1NPR. Judge Hannah Dugan Guilty Obstruction ICE Prosecutors said she told her staff she would “take the heat.”2JURIST. Wisconsin Judge Convicted of Felony Obstruction for Interference in ICE Arrest Flores-Ruiz was caught outside the building after a foot chase and later deported.
A federal grand jury indicted Dugan on felony obstruction of a federal proceeding and misdemeanor concealment of an individual from arrest. Her defense argued that courthouse immigration enforcement policies were in flux and that judicial immunity shielded her. After a weeklong trial in December 2025, a jury convicted her on the felony count and acquitted her on concealment.3ABC News. Milwaukee Judge Convicted Obstructing Federal Immigration Agents Resigns The Wisconsin Supreme Court had suspended her shortly after her arrest, and she resigned in early January 2026. She faces up to five years in prison and has said she will keep fighting the case. Sentencing is set for July 8, 2026.4Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Sentencing Set for Former Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan in ICE Case
Mayor Ras Baraka
On May 9, 2025, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested outside Delaney Hall, a GEO Group-operated ICE detention facility that had opened days earlier. Baraka, who had sued to block the facility over building permit issues, arrived with Rep. LaMonica McIver and two other New Jersey members of Congress to inspect conditions.5WHYY. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka Arrest What to Know
Federal officials denied Baraka entry, saying he was not a member of Congress. After he returned to the public side of the gate, where protesters had gathered, he was arrested and charged with misdemeanor trespassing by the office of Alina Habba, the interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey. He was fingerprinted, photographed, and released the same day.6CBS News. Ras Baraka Charge Dropped Alina Habba Thirteen days later, Habba dropped the charge “for the sake of moving forward.” U.S. Magistrate Judge André M. Espinosa, dismissing the case, rebuked prosecutors: “Your role is not to secure convictions at all costs, nor to satisfy public clamor, nor to advance political agendas.”7The New York Times. Ras Baraka Alina Habba Lawsuit ICE
On June 3, 2025, Baraka sued Habba and Homeland Security Investigations agent Ricky Patel, alleging false arrest, malicious prosecution, and defamation over Habba’s social media statements about him.8PBS NewsHour. Newark Mayor Sues Federal Prosecutor Saying Arrest at Immigration Detention Site Was Political Baraka v. Habba remains active, with motions to dismiss and a hearing scheduled for early July 2026.9Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse. Baraka v. Habba
Rep. LaMonica McIver
While the Baraka charge was dropped, a federal grand jury indicted Rep. LaMonica McIver on June 10, 2025, on three counts of forcibly impeding federal officers during the same Delaney Hall encounter. Prosecutors alleged she slammed her forearm into an agent and tried to physically prevent Baraka’s arrest. The counts carry a combined maximum of 17 years in prison.10ABC 7 New York. US Representative LaMonica McIver Due Court Assault Charges McIver pleaded not guilty and called the prosecution “all about political intimidation.”
Her lawyers moved to dismiss on selective and vindictive prosecution grounds, pointing to the administration’s pardons or dismissals for more than 160 January 6 defendants and arguing that it was inconsistent to prosecute a congresswoman for lesser alleged conduct. They also invoked the Speech and Debate Clause and the Supreme Court’s ruling in U.S. v. Trump on immunity for official acts. The dismissal motions were denied, and McIver has appealed to the Third Circuit. Trial is set for November 10, 2026.11Democracy Docket. LaMonica McIver Dismiss Federal Charges Citing Trump Jan 6 Pardons
The Prosecutor: Alina Habba
Both the Baraka and McIver cases were brought by Alina Habba, who became interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey in March 2025 after serving as President Trump’s personal attorney and a White House adviser. Shortly after her appointment, she said in an interview that she hoped to help “turn New Jersey red.”12New Jersey Monitor. Acting US Attorney Has Degraded Her Office New Jersey Democrats Say
In December 2025, a Third Circuit panel affirmed a lower court order disqualifying Habba, ruling that the administration’s appointment maneuvers failed to meet Senate confirmation requirements and statutory time limits. When federal judges in New Jersey had earlier tried to replace her with a career prosecutor, the administration fired that appointee and reinstalled Habba. The appeals court ruling ended her tenure.13PBS NewsHour. Alina Habba Trumps Former Lawyer Disqualified as New Jersey Prosecutor
Sen. Alex Padilla
On June 12, 2025, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla of California was forcibly removed from a press conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles. Padilla said he was in the building for a scheduled briefing and attended the press conference after being unable to secure a separate meeting with DHS.
When Padilla tried to ask Noem a question, federal agents, including Secret Service and uniformed FBI personnel, physically removed him from the room, shoved him to the ground, and handcuffed him.14BBC News. Padilla Forcibly Removed From DHS Press Conference DHS accused him of “disrespectful political theatre” and alleged he “lunged at Secretary Noem.” FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said Padilla was not wearing a security pin and physically resisted officers. Padilla disputed those accounts, saying he identified himself as a senator while being dragged away. He was not formally arrested or charged, and he and Noem spoke for 15 minutes afterward.15NPR. Padilla Removed DHS Press Conference
The incident drew bipartisan condemnation. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Adam Schiff spoke against it on the Senate floor, and Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski called it “shocking at every level.”
Brad Lander
Brad Lander, then New York City Comptroller and a Democratic mayoral candidate, was arrested by federal agents on June 17, 2025, outside an immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan.16Axios. Lander Democrats Arrested Charged Immigration Trump He was later charged with misdemeanor obstruction over a September 18, 2025, visit in which prosecutors alleged he sat in front of an elevator bank on the building’s 10th floor for 20 to 25 minutes while trying to access ICE hold rooms where immigrants were detained.
In October 2025, federal officials offered to drop the charge if Lander agreed not to protest inside any federal building for six months. He refused. The case went to a one-day trial before U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry J. Ricardo, who acquitted him on June 11, 2026, finding that the government had failed to prove he intended to obstruct the elevators or that he was uncooperative while receiving conflicting instructions from law enforcement.17The Guardian. Brad Lander Trial Immigration Court18PBS NewsHour. Judge Acquits Democratic Congressional Candidate Arrested at New York Immigration Court Protest
The Nadler Office Incident
On May 28, 2025, Federal Protective Service agents entered the Manhattan district office of Rep. Jerry Nadler at the federal building on Varick Street and handcuffed a congressional aide. DHS said agents entered over reports that protesters were inside and concerns for staff safety; on video, an agent told office staff, “You’re harboring rioters in the office.” The aide had earlier observed agents detaining migrants in a hallway outside an immigration courtroom on a lower floor. The staffer was briefly detained and released without charges.19The New York Times. Nadler Aide Handcuffed Federal Agents Nadler and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin wrote to Chairman Jim Jordan calling the intrusion an “aggressive affront to the separation of powers” and requesting a hearing.20Office of Rep. Jerry Nadler. Statement on DHS Entry Into Nadler Office
The DOJ Memo That Set the Stage
The individual arrests fit a policy pattern set early in the administration. In January 2025, Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove issued a memo directing federal prosecutors to investigate and consider criminal charges against state and local officials who declined to cooperate with immigration enforcement. Invoking the Supremacy Clause, the memo stated that “federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing, and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands.” The DOJ also established a “Sanctuary Cities Enforcement Working Group.”21The Washington Post. Justice Immigration Memo Sanctuary Cities
In August 2025, the Justice Department published a list of jurisdictions it deemed noncompliant, including 13 states and numerous cities and counties. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said the DOJ would “continue bringing litigation against sanctuary jurisdictions” to “eradicate” their policies. The DOJ sued New York City in July 2025, and litigation threats prompted at least one city, Louisville, to revoke its sanctuary policies.22U.S. Department of Justice. Justice Department Publishes List of Sanctuary Jurisdictions
The Legal Questions in Play
Speech and Debate Clause
McIver’s defense rests in part on the Speech and Debate Clause of Article I, which provides members of Congress with absolute immunity for “legitimate legislative acts.” The Supreme Court has recognized committee hearings, investigations, and subpoenas as protected, but has held the Clause does not shield “political” activities like constituent services, nor does it cover criminal conduct like bribery.23EveryCRSReport.com. Congressional Research Service Report on the Speech or Debate Clause Whether an unannounced oversight visit to a detention facility counts as a protected legislative act, and at what point physical resistance to an officer forfeits that protection, has not been squarely decided. Members of Congress have long claimed oversight authority at immigration detention facilities, supported by a provision in annual appropriations bills since 2019 that ties detention funding to congressional inspection access.24The New Yorker. The Trump Crackdown on Elected Officials
First Amendment Retaliation
Civil liberties organizations argue the arrests amount to First Amendment retaliation. The Brennan Center for Justice reported in November 2025 that ICE was using its Homeland Security Investigations division to investigate protesters, and that FBI agents had visited the homes of anti-ICE demonstrators to ask about protest financing. A September 2025 presidential memo directed federal law enforcement to focus on ideologies labeled “anti-Americanism” and “anti-capitalism,” and Secretary Noem characterized the filming and identification of ICE agents as “violence.”25Brennan Center for Justice. ICE Wants to Go After Dissenters as Well as Immigrants
Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin wrote to Noem in October 2025 demanding DHS stop arresting people for filming immigration enforcement in public, calling the practice “unlawful and unconstitutional.” They cited a 2022 unanimous ruling from the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals holding that the right to film police is protected by the First Amendment, along with similar rulings from six other federal circuits.26Office of Sen. Tammy Duckworth. Duckworth Durbin Demand DHS Stop Arresting Individuals for Exercising Their First Amendment Rights
Where Things Stand
As of mid-2026, the government’s results are mixed. Lander was acquitted. The Baraka charge was dropped, and his civil suit against federal prosecutors is pending, with a motion-to-dismiss hearing in early July 2026. Padilla was never charged. Dugan was convicted on the felony obstruction count, resigned, and awaits sentencing on July 8, 2026, facing up to five years in prison. McIver’s trial on charges carrying up to 17 years is set for November 10, 2026, with her Third Circuit appeal of the denied dismissal motion pending.