A federal judge sharply criticized the Trump administration this week, accusing officials of withholding critical information from the court and later spreading a misleading public narrative about the case.
Melissa DuBose said there had been a “massive breach” of trust after learning that key details about a detainee’s background were not disclosed during proceedings.
The case centers on Bryan Rafael Gomez, whose release drew public criticism after the Department of Homeland Security claimed he was a dangerous individual wanted for murder in the Dominican Republic. In a statement, DHS went further, accusing DuBose—an appointee of Joe Biden—of acting as an “activist judge.”
Justice Department attorney Kevin Bolan admitted as much in a filing apologizing and placing blame on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a bid to avoid contempt charges:
I had been informed by ICE about the Petitioner’s pending arrest warrant issued on January 24, 2023, from a court in the Dominican Republic and that I could not disclose that information. I was not aware that ICE had previously disclosed that same information on April 16, 2026.1 In failing to disclose the information regarding Petitioner’s criminal history, I relied on ICE’s representation that I was not permitted to disclose that information and understood that a legitimate law enforcement reason prevented disclosure. Judge DuBose, therefore, lacked that information about the Petitioner’s criminal background when she granted the petition.
I sincerely apologize to Judge DuBose, personally, and to the entire Court for the consequences of this lack of disclosure.
At that hearing on Monday, the judge slammed the Trump administration over the attack.
“The April 30th, completely erroneous and dangerous press release is still on their website. It puts people at risk. It’s a threat to judicial security,” the judge said. “I’m not trying to make this political. It’s also very important that the public has the facts. As long as this particular post is out there, it’s setting up a false narrative.”
Judge Dubose also said “there was a decision made not to be truthful to the court,” and that “there certainly was a massive breach of this court’s trust in this case.”
Gomez attorney Melanie Shapiro said she was blindsided by the murder charge as well. She wrote in a statement: “I was completely shocked by the information about the warrant and deeply disturbed by the extremely inflammatory rhetoric against Judge DeBose. If I knew about an outstanding warrant from the Dominican Republic for murder, I would never have filed the petition.”
The judge will decide on the contempt charges at a hearing on Tuesday afternoon.
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