‘Sometimes Civil Disobedience Is Necessary’: NYT Writer Defends Judge’s ‘Illegal’ Stand Against ‘Predatory’ FBI

New York Times columnist David Brooks said Friday he believes that while a Milwaukee County judge’s alleged actions to help a man evade immigration authorities may have been “illegal,” they were nevertheless justified.

Appearing on PBS’s NewsHour, Brooks commented on the arrest of Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan, who is accused of escorting an illegal immigrant accused of violent crimes through a private door to avoid federal immigration agents.

The FBI arrested Dugan on Friday, alleging that she helped a man flee from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

According to the Justice Department, agents later apprehended the man outside the courthouse following a foot chase.

Brooks said he was cautious about weighing in on the specifics of Dugan’s case but that what Dugan allegedly did was necessary and “heroic.”

PBS host Amna Nawaz asked Brooks to weigh in on the story.

“Well, obviously, they’re trying to send a note of intimidation, not only to her, but to all judges and maybe to all Americans,” he said. “But I don’t yet know the specific details of this case.” Brooks added:

But especially on the issue of immigration, there are a lot of people who are appalled by what the administration is doing. And there will be times for civil disobedience. And to me, let’s say she did escort this guy out the door. If federal enforcement agencies come to your courtroom and you help a guy escape, that is two things. One, it strikes me as maybe something illegal, but it also strikes me something heroic.

And in times of trouble, then people are sometimes called to do civil disobedience. And in my view, when people do civil disobeying, they have to pay the price. That’s part of the heroism of it, frankly. And so you can both think that she shouldn’t have. Legally done this, and that morally protecting somebody against, maybe not even in this case, but in other cases, frankly, a predatory enforcement agency, sometimes civil disobedience is necessary.

Brooks concluded President Donald Trump would be thrilled to see his opponents engage in acts of civil disobedience but his “opponents should welcome that fight.”

Watch above via PBS.