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Ex-New Mexico judge, wife arrested for allegedly harboring illegal Tren de Aragua member in their home
By Shane Galvin

A recently resigned New Mexico judge and his wife were arrested in a federal raid on their family home Thursday, after it was revealed they harbored an accused member of Tren de Aragua, according to a report.

Democratic former Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Jose “Joel” Cano and his wife, Nancy Cano, each face two charges of evidence tampering for allegedly harboring Cristhian Ortega-Lopez — an accused illegal migrant who federal officials say is a member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, Fox News reported.

“Under President Trump, we have arrested over 150,000 aliens — including more than 600 members of the vicious Tren de Aragua gang,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told the outlet.

On Feb. 28, Ortega-Lopez, 23, was apprehended during an ICE raid at the judge’s tony Las Cruces, NM, residence, where the suspected gangbanger lived in a guesthouse after first ingratiating himself as a handyman, Fox News reported, citing court documents.

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court of New Mexico permanently barred Cano from serving on the bench due to the February arrest of Ortega-Lopez. The judge had resigned from the bench in March.

ICE investigators claimed Ortega-Lopez has Tren de Aragua-related tattoos, social media posts and clothing — and they used a search warrant to discover voicemails and text messages relating to alleged gang activity.

In a separate raid at the home of the couple’s daughter, April Cano, ICE investigators recovered four firearms — some of which allegedly belong to Ortega-Lopez, investigators said, citing social media evidence.

“Doña Ana County has been a hotbed of illegal immigration and drug trafficking, human smuggling for many, many years,” former ICE Field Office Director John Fabbricatore told WPMI.

“To see that a judge would allow this to happen. It’s very concerning. It’s concerning. What else has the judge been doing?” Fabbricatore said.

Ortega-Lopez allegedly entered the US unlawfully in 2023 — crossing the border near Eagle Pass, Texas, on Dec. 15 — and was released into the country three days later, pending removal proceedings, due to overcrowding at the prison, Fox News reported.

The alleged Tren de Aragua gang member was issued a Notice to Appear, which initiated formal removal proceedings, according to the outlet.

Ortega-Lopez faces up to 15 years in prison for being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5).

Feds bust Wisconsin judge for allegedly helping illegal migrant accused of punching victim 30 times evade ICE agents
By Emily Crane and Samuel Chamberlain

A veteran Wisconsin judge was arrested Friday on charges of helping a Mexican illegal migrant evade Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in her courtroom.

Judge Hannah Dugan, who has been on the Milwaukee County bench for nearly a decade, is accused of obstruction of justice and concealing Eduardo Flores-Ruiz from arrest following a pre-trial hearing last week.

Dugan appeared briefly in Milwaukee federal court Friday morning before being released after prosecutors said they would not ask for her detention before trial. Her arraignment has been set for May 15.

She faces a maximum of 10 years in prison if convicted on both counts. It was not immediately clear whether Dugan would be placed on leave during her case.

“Judge Dugan wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest. It was not made in the interest of public safety,” her attorney, Craig Mastantuono, said during the proceeding.

According to a criminal complaint obtained by The Post, an ICE officer and a US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official showed up outside Dugan’s courtroom April 18 with a warrant for Flores-Ruiz’s arrest for illegally entering the US, but were told by a security guard and a sheriff’s sergeant to wait outside until after the hearing.

The complaint noted that Flores-Ruiz, 30, had been deported from the US once before in 2013. It was not immediately clear when he crossed the border again, and there is no evidence he did so legally.

Flores-Ruiz was appearing before Dugan April 18 for a pre-trial conference on three misdemeanor battery charges stemming from a fight the previous month in which he was accused of punching another person 30 times after being accused of playing music too loudly, according to a police report obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The complaint states that while the team assigned to arrest Flores-Ruiz, which included FBI and DEA agents, waited for the hearing to conclude, they were photographed by a public defender, who informed Dugan’s clerk that “there appeared to be ICE agents in the hallway.”

After speaking with the clerk, Dugan “became visibly angry” and left the bench to confront the federal agents, according to an affidavit by a FBI special agent.

. . .

Flores-Ruiz and his attorney made it out of the courthouse before the suspect was arrested by a FBI and DEA agent following a brief foot chase.

“We believe Judge Dugan intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject to be arrested in her courthouse, Eduardo Flores Ruiz, allowing the subject — an illegal alien — to evade arrest,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in an X post Friday morning.

“Thankfully our agents chased down the perp on foot and he’s been in custody since, but the Judge’s obstruction created increased danger to the public.”

. . .

Dugan’s arrest comes one day after a recently retired New Mexico judge and his wife were hauled away in cuffs for allegedly sheltering a suspected Tren de Aragua gangbanger at their home.

Ex-Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Jose “Joel” Cano and his wife, Nancy Cano, were accused of harboring Cristhian Ortega-Lopez in their guesthouse after initially hiring him as a handyman.

Trump orders probe of foreign funding, ‘straw donors’ in elections after ActBlue fraud claims
By Josh Christenson

President Trump signed a memo Thursday ordering a probe of any illicit “straw donors” or foreign funding that flowed into federal elections following claims that the largest Democratic fundraising platform accepted fraudulent contributions in 2024.

The memo authorized Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate whether ActBlue allowed “dummy” accounts or foreign nationals to donate to Democratic causes — as well as any other suspicious online contributions.

“These activities undermine the integrity of our electoral process,” it stated, with the president mandating a report back from his AG in 180 days.

Trump had repeatedly pledged to “secure” US elections before his return to the White House — and signed an earlier executive order to that effect after taking office.

ActBlue approved “more lenient” standards during the last presidential campaign cycle, according to internal records obtained by The Post, which revealed hundreds of dubious contributions — including ones from “foreign IP” addresses, leading Republicans to cry foul.

“[D]espite repeated instances of fraudulent donations to Democrat campaigns and causes from domestic and foreign sources, ActBlue is not demonstrating a serious effort to deter fraud on its platform,” a 478-page report from members of the House Oversight and Administration Committees staff declared.

Until last year, the liberal fundraising juggernaut did not mandate a card verification value (CVV) for debit, credit or prepaid gift card transactions.

. . .

At least 237 overseas transactions using prepaid cards were flagged between September and October 2024, according to the documents, which has prompted concern from the Republican-led panels about how “widespread” fraudulent contributions might have been.

State-level investigations were previously launched, while Wisconsin GOP strategist Mark Block claimed in a bombshell racketeering lawsuit filed in October of last year that his identity was stolen to make 385 fraudulent donations to liberal groups — including then-Vice President Kamala Harris’ super PAC.

ActBlue has helped funnel $16 billion to lefty campaigns and causes since 2004 — and was a critical part of Harris’ ascent to the top of the 2024 Democratic ticket, amassing $46.7 million for her campaign to succeed former President Joe Biden.

Judge rules death penalty will remain as possible punishment despite Bryan Kohberger's autism diagnosis
By Alexandra Koch

A judge ruled Thursday that prosecutors could seek the death penalty against Bryan Kohberger if he is found guilty of the 2022 slaying of four University of Idaho students.

Judge Steven Hippler issued his decision after Kohberger's attorneys asked the court to bar the sentence due to his autism diagnosis.

Prosecutors previously indicated in court filings they intended to seek the death penalty with a conviction.

Defense attorneys in court documents argued Kohberger’s autism spectrum disorder (ASD) "reduces his culpability, negates the retributive and deterrent purposes of capital punishment, and exposes him to the unacceptable risk that he will be wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death," according to a report from The Associated Press.

They added it could be considered cruel and unusual punishment, which is outlawed by the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Hippler said Kohberger's attorneys failed to show that ASD is equivalent to an intellectual disability for death penalty exemption purposes, and there is no national consensus against subjecting individuals with ASD to capital punishment, the AP reported.

"ASD may be a mitigating factor to be weighed against the aggravating factors in determining if defendant should receive the death penalty, but it is not (a) death-penalty disqualified," Hippler said.

The 30-year-old is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20, who were stabbed to death at an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, at about 4 a.m. Nov. 13, 2022.

. . .