• A Milwaukee County Judge’s clerk was reprimanded for calling a federal immigration agent a “fascist.”
• The clerk, Alan Freed, made the comment outside the courtroom of Judge Hannah Dugan, who was later found guilty of felony obstruction.
• Freed stated he stood by his comments, calling them political speech, and received the lowest level of a write-up.

Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan’s clerk, who called a federal immigration agent “a fascist” outside a courtroom, was reprimanded for the comment.

Alan Freed testified at Dugan’s federal obstruction trial that he told Dugan the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were in the hallway outside her courtroom on April 18.

Freed testified he went into the public hallway and called one of the agents a “fascist.”

The agents were in the hallway outside of Dugan’s courtroom to arrest Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, who was wanted for illegally re-entering the U.S. after being previously deported.

In a split verdict, a jury found Dugan guilty of felony obstruction of agents, but not guilty of trying to hide the suspect, a misdemeanor.

Dugan’s defense team is seeking to overturn the jury verdict and will file motions by late January with U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman.

Milwaukee County Clerk of Courts Anna Hodges said she couldn’t provide specifics about the situation with Freed because it is a personnel matter. But she added it is impermissible, under state Supreme Court rules, for court staff like Freed to express personal opinions on the job.

Clerks are key employee for judges, calling cases, determining available dates for next hearings and answering questions when the judge is not on the bench.

“People have their own personal opinions, but we need to be professional and appropriate in the courtroom setting,” she said. “Our job is to be impartial.”

Radio host Mark Belling first reported on Hodge’s concern about Freed’s conduct.

Hodges said her staff, including Freed, are well aware of the state Supreme Court rules on decorum because of required trainings.

In an interview, Freed said he is retiring Jan. 2, but said it was planned and unrelated to his reprimand. He is 70.

Freed said he received the “lowest level of write-up” for what he said on April 18. He said he didn’t back down when it was delivered, and added that it was his first reprimand in seven years as a clerk.

“I said, ‘I stand by my comments, and it’s political speech, and that’s that,’” Freed said.

Freed said the reprimand came before he testified. He said his supervisor approached him again after his testimony, but didn’t give him an additional write-up, because it was for the same thing, he said.

Freed said he was told by his supervisor that “language like that isn’t appropriate, especially in the public hallway, as you’re an employee of the county, and it doesn’t show good judgment.”

“I said, ‘It was on the spur of the moment, and a lot of us were outraged at what was going on. And I stand by my words.’”

Freed said he wasn’t aware of rules around decorum for court clerks.

“I’m not aware of that, but maybe (Hodges) has got some document but she hasn’t shared it with me,” said Freed, who was a disability rights lawyer before he became a court clerk.

A 41-year-old was found guilty in the murders of Christopher Martell Washington, Louis Mitchell Lemons, Jr., and Samantha Jo Moss at a homeless encampment in Minneapolis, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.

According to a criminal complaint, Earl Bennett rode an e-bike to a tent in the encampment in October 2024, asked to see one of the victims inside and began shooting shortly after being allowed inside. Surveillance video showed him leaving the tent and riding away on his e-bike.

Washington and Lemons were declared dead at the scene, and Moss died at the hospital a week later.

Woman dies nearly a week after triple shooting at Minneapolis encampment; suspect charged

Bennett is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 16 in this case, the attorney’s office said.

Other cases

Bennett is also a defendant in two other cases.

He was shot by law enforcement after pointing a gun at officers in St. Paul days after the murders.

Officers later learned Bennett had shot and critically injured a man earlier in the evening at a sober living home on the 3500 block of Columbus Avenue South.

The gun Bennett pointed at officers in St. Paul matched the casings found at both the encampment and sober living home shootings.

SPPD releases bodycam of officers shooting and injuring man charged in encampment triple homicide | Man seriously injured in Minneapolis shooting, suspect not in custody

These cases both remain open.