Judge Hannah Dugan of Milwaukee County Circuit in Wisconsin was arrested on Friday after FBI agents and ICE officers turned up in her courthouse to arrest Mexican national Eduardo Flores-Ruiz.

Flores-Ruiz, who was being tried for alleged domestic abuse offences, was previously deported from the US in 2013 and is alleged to have re-entered the country unlawfully.

The US Department of Justice said that Judge Dugan escorted Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer out of her courtroom via the jury door, enabling him to temporarily evade federal custody. He was ultimately arrested outside of the courthouse.

Her actions came after she is said to have objected to federal agents’ attempt to arrest Flores-Ruiz on foot of an administrative warrant, telling them that she needed to see a judicial warrant.

The judge has been charged with obstruction of proceedings before a department or agency of the United States, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and concealing a person to prevent arrest, which carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison.

US Attorney General Pamela Bondi said: “No one, least of all a judge, should obstruct law enforcement operations.

“Doing so imperils the safety of our law enforcement officers and undermines the rule of law. The Department of Justice will continue to follow the facts – no one is above the law.”

In a statement, Judge Dugan said she “has committed herself to the rule of law and the principles of due process for her entire career as a lawyer and a judge” and “will defend herself vigorously, and looks forward to being exonerated”.

Judge Pedro Colón, a judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, told CNN that he believed the Trump administration is “trying to send a message to chill the judiciary” through Judge Dugan’s arrest.

“I think what they want to do is to essentially have the judiciary, not only in Wisconsin but the independent judiciaries of the state… essentially succumb to their power and their policy priorities independent of constitutional rights and what other rights people have,” he said.

Wisconsin’s Democratic Governor, Tony Evers, said: “In this country, people who are suspected of criminal wrongdoing are innocent until their guilt is proven beyond reasonable doubt and they are found guilty by a jury of their peers – this is the fundamental demand of justice in America.

“Unfortunately, we have seen in recent months the president and the Trump administration repeatedly use dangerous rhetoric to attack and attempt to undermine our judiciary at every level, including flat-out disobeying the highest court in the land and threatening to impeach and remove judges who do not rule in their favour.

“I have deep respect for the rule of law, our nation’s judiciary, the importance of judges making decisions impartially without fear or favour, and the efforts of law enforcement to hold people accountable if they commit a crime.

“I will continue to put my faith in our justice system as this situation plays out in the court of law.”