Milwaukee, WI

Judge Hannah Dugan’s clerk reprimanded for calling ICE agent a ‘fascist’

Published

4 months ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

Judge Hannah Dugan’s clerk reprimanded for calling ICE agent a ‘fascist’

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.

Asked if he would have done anything differently on April 18, Freed said he may have tried to convince Dugan not to take Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out of an employee-only door into a private hallway.

At trial, Freed testified he had never seen a defendant use that door in thousands of cases. Dugan guiding the pair into that private hallway was a key part of the case.

“I might have spoken out and encouraged the judge not to do what she did, but you know, that’s her call,” Freed said. “It’s ultimately her courtroom.”

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee stabbing suspect deemed ‘not competent’ for trial

Published

8 hours ago

April 10, 2026

Press Room

Milwaukee stabbing suspect deemed ‘not competent’ for trial

The Milwaukee man accused of stabbing his 44-year-old girlfriend to death then allegedly confessing to the crime in a text message was found not competent to stand trial and unable to assist in his own defense.

Mile Dukic has been in custody at the Milwaukee County Jail since his arrest in February, following the brutal killing of Amanda Varisco, 44.

Dukic is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, use of a dangerous weapon, and felony counts of bail jumping.

The doctor’s report was submitted to the court April 9, online court records show. At an April 10 hearing, Dukic, attending by Zoom, and his lawyers Arial Rosenberg and Theodore O’Reilly did not contest any of the report’s conclusions.

Court proceedings were ordered suspended by Circuit Court Judge David Swanson, and Dukic was assigned to the Department of Health and Family Services for institutional treatment to restore competency.

Swanson ordered the parties to return for a review hearing on July 9 to report progress.

Here’s what police and prosecutors say happened that night

According to a criminal complaint, Dukic and Varisco had a physical altercation on Feb. 3 at an apartment on the 3600 block of West National Avenue.

Milwaukee police were sent there that night to do a welfare check.

Officers arrived and talked to Varisco’s daughter and the daughter’s boyfriend at the scene. The daughter shared with police a text message she said she received from Dukic in which he claimed he had killed her mother, the complaint said.

Dukic told officers in an interview he and Varisco fought because Varisco had gotten a phone call from another man and that she told Dukic she wanted him to leave, the complaint reads.

Online court records show Dukic was out on bail in two cases at the time of Varsico’s death – one for stalking another woman, one for bail jumping.

Chris Ramirez covers courts for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at caramirez@usatodayco.com.

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee man accused of appliance beating; victim later dies

Published

20 hours ago

April 10, 2026

Press Room

Milwaukee man accused of appliance beating

A Milwaukee man accused of beating a 64-year-old friend with appliances earlier this month now faces possible additional charges after the victim later died from injuries.

MILWAUKEE – A Milwaukee man accused of beating a longtime friend with household appliances now faces additional scrutiny after the victim later died from his injuries.

What we know:

The accused is 51-year-old David Tisser. He has been charged with the following:

Battery to an elderly person – intentionally causing great bodily harm, use of a dangerous weapon
Battery to an elderly person – intentionally causing bodily harm

If convicted, he faces up to $110,000 in fines and up to 46 years in prison, including a possible five-year dangerous weapon enhancer. However, now that one of the victims has died, the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office will be reviewing additional charges.

The backstory:

According to a criminal complaint, the incident happened just after 7 p.m. April 1 at a building near 15th and National.

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Investigators say Tisser first kicked in a door and injured a 72-year-old man before forcing his way into another room belonging to 64-year-old Steve Stegall.

Stegall’s daughter, Sheronica McIntyre, said her father knew Tisser and considered him a friend.

The complaint says Tisser struck Stegall in the head and face using multiple items inside the room, including a microwave, mini-fridge and television, before pushing him down a stairway as he attempted to leave.

What they’re saying:

McIntyre reiterated this.

“He went to open the door, David Tisser forced himself in his room. He beat my dad severely with a microwave and picked up a refrigerator, yes, to beat my day with appliances over the head,” McIntyre said. “He threw him down the stairs severely and my dad says that’s when he hit his head. He was left with a TBI in severe bleeding up the brain.”

Stegall was taken to the hospital with a head wound requiring five staples, a forehead injury requiring 15 stitches and brain bleeding that doctors described as potentially life-threatening.

McIntyre said her father was placed in a coma for three days following the attack. She said he later woke up and described the assault.

“This happened to my dad, being a good person because he believed they’re showing grace,” McIntyre said.

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Stegall died Wednesday, according to McIntyre.

“I’m the only child, he’s my only parent, this is my last parent. This is my dad,” McIntyre said. “He was somebody my dad thought was a friend, so yeah, I want justice for my dad. You know he wasn’t insane. When he did this, he wasn’t insane. He knew exactly what he was doing.”

What’s next:

A competency exam has been ordered for Tisser, with the report expected in court May 4, according to court records.

His cash bond was set at $10,000.

The Source: Information in this report is from the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office and Wisconsin Circuit Court.

Crime and Public SafetyMilwaukeeNews

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Milwaukee, WI

Is it legal to forage for food in Milwaukee? Here’s what to know

Published

1 day ago

April 9, 2026

Press Room

Is it legal to forage for food in Milwaukee? Here’s what to know

Foraging, or the practice of gathering wild foods, has become more popular over the years as people seek a more authentic connection with nature and with what they eat.

But there is a lot to know about how to do it and where it’s allowed – especially in the Milwaukee area, where legacy industrial pollution has left behind contaminated soil in many places.

Experts say you should not eat something unless you’re completely certain of what it is and whether it is safe to eat. They also remind people not to take more than they need.

Here’s what to know about where you can – and can’t – forage in Milwaukee and the surrounding area.

Is it legal to forage in Milwaukee County parks?

No.

Milwaukee County Ordinance 47.08 says no person shall “harvest, collect, deface, or disturb” native plants or fungi anywhere in the park system. The removal of invasive species is only permitted by parks department staff or others they have authorized. Breaking the rule comes at a cost of $100.

The ordinance is in place largely because many soils around the county are contaminated due to the area’s industrial history, said James Tarantino, deputy director of Milwaukee County Parks. In other words, it’s a safety issue.

“People really can’t assume that just because this field is green and it has plants growing on it that it’s always been that way,” Tarantino said.

The parks department is working on restoring native habitat and cleaning up soils, including in the Milwaukee River corridor, which is designated as one of the most degraded areas in the Great Lakes region.

Tarantino said the number of tickets issued for foraging in the parks is small and usually occurs when people are taking large quantities of a plant for commercial use. Typically, parks department staffers try to to educate people about the reasons foraging is not allowed, he said.

Is it legal to forage in Wisconsin state parks?

Foraging is allowed on state lands, including parks, forests and natural areas – but some rules still apply.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, people can forage for edible fruits and nuts; wild mushrooms; wild asparagus and watercress; and garlic mustard and other invasive species, without a permit.

Still, it is only allowed for personal consumption. Collecting seeds, plant parts and wild ramps is not allowed. Foraging of endangered or threatened species is similarly banned, and the state has specific rules for harvesting wild rice and wild ginseng.

Do other counties allow foraging?

Foraging is legal in some Wisconsin county parks. It’s always a good idea to check in advance.

Dane County, for example, offers a list of specific locations within parks to find nuts, morel mushrooms, berries and other fruits, as well as the best times to harvest.

Madeline Heim covers health and the environment for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact her at 920-996-7266 or mheim@usatodayco.com.

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