GoLocal Columnist Curtis Talks About His Cousin - The Judge Arrested in Wisconsin by the FBI

GoLocal Columnist Curtis Talks About His Cousin - The Judge Arrested in Wisconsin by the FBI

Mark Curtis has been in the news business for more than 40 years. The straight shooter has been a political reporter in Washington, D.C., Providence, and West Virginia, to name a few of his stops.

Now, the news is hitting home for Curtis.

Trump administration officials accused Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan of "intentionally misdirecting" federal authorities who were trying to detain a man for deportation.

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Curtis said, “I heard it on the news last Friday morning, and my jaw just dropped. I mean, I was just stunned. And then, subsequently to that, some people sent me copies of the criminal complaint and the details, at least the FBI's version of what happened."

“Judge Hannah Dugan is my first cousin. She's the daughter, one of the daughters of my dad's only sister,” said Curtis in an interview with GoLocal on Thursday.

“And she has a twin brother named Hugh, and both of them were born 11 days before me. So, folks referred to us as the 'Irish triplets.' We're very close. We've done a lot of things together over the years, closer than probably most cousins are,” he added.

“Hannah's one of eight kids. I'm one of seven kids. We both lost our moms to pancreatic cancer when we were teenagers inside of 16 months. 15 kids losing their moms, the same thing. Sixteen months apart, we were devastated,” said Curtis.

"But that made us a stronger family," he added. "That's why I think we're circling the wagons. We're so behind her now because we have faced adversity as a family before, and we stand together.”

“Well, we are people of faith. Hannah's a very devout Catholic. She goes to church every day before she goes to the courthouse. We're a very God-centered family. And that's, I think, a reflection of some of the adversity we've faced in our lifetimes,” added Curtis.

This week, the Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended Dugan as a result of her arrest.

 

The Nature of the Case

The case has made global news. But Curtis said he and the other family members have agreed not to weigh in on the merit of the case.

“It’s tough. And I've always tried to be sensitive to this as a reporter, because we are often thrust in situations like this, covering events like this. And I always try to do it with a sense of compassion to those we cover," said Curtis.

“We are not the judge or the jury in the news media. We're there to report the facts as we know them and let other people interpret what that means. And so just. I hope the professional standards I have set my entire 40, almost 50-year career are as intact today when it's a family member I'm talking about versus a total stranger,” said Curtis.

As a columnist for GoLocal for the past decade-plus, Curtis has been embraced by both sides of the proverbial aisle for his unbiased analysis.

In 2020, he predicted Joe Biden would win the presidency, and in 2024, he said Trump would return to the White House.

 

 

Perp Walk Controversy

Regarding the “perp walk” controversy, Curtis did weigh in.

The Department of Justice has some strong restrictions against so-called “perp walks” — walking the accused in front of the media in handcuffs. The Justice Department also does not disseminate “mug shots.”

“I think there may be some legal loopholes in this case. There's a lot of discussion that FBI Director Kash Patel released her photo in handcuffs to the general public via X and that that may have violated a Department of Justice rule that the FBI and other people in the Department of Justice are not to aid the news media in the dissemination of photos unless it's part of the public record and in this case it may not be,” said Curtis.

“So there are some legal scholars who think this case could get thrown out because he is potentially tainted potential jurors,” said Curtis.