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‘Anti-feminist’ lawyer identified as suspect in deadly shooting at federal judge’s home

July 20, 2020 at 5:17 p.m. EDT
Law enforcement officials investigate the home of federal judge Esther Salas where her son was shot and killed and her defense attorney husband was critically injured in North Brunswick, New Jersey. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)

Federal authorities identified a self-described “anti-feminist” lawyer found dead Monday as the “primary subject” in a shooting at a federal judge’s New Jersey home that killed the jurist’s son and left her husband badly injured.

U.S. District Judge Esther Salas was not harmed in the Sunday shooting, which the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service and local authorities continue to investigate. The FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office in New Jersey identified the dead suspect as Roy Den Hollander. Speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, law enforcement officials said his body was found in Sullivan County, N.Y., about a two-hour drive from the scene of the shooting. The lawyer appeared to have died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, one official said.

Hollander gained a level of notoriety having sued over ladies’ night drink specials, which he claimed were discriminatory. He also had a years-long case before Salas in which he was contesting the government’s refusal to allow women to register for the military draft.

The gunman appeared at Salas’s home in North Brunswick, N.J., on Sunday afternoon, wearing an outfit described to police as a FedEx delivery uniform, law enforcement officials said. Both Mark Anderl, 63, a defense attorney and former Essex County assistant prosecutor, and Daniel Anderl, 20, a student at Catholic University in D.C., were shot after one of them opened the door for the gunman around 5 p.m.

“He was shot through the heart,” North Brunswick Mayor Francis “Mac” Womack (D) told ABC News of Daniel Anderl, the couple’s son.

Mark Anderl was rushed to the hospital and is in stable condition, Womack told local media. Daniel Anderl was a rising junior at Catholic University, the school’s president said in a statement. He had just celebrated his birthday last week.

The FBI had said it is looking for one suspect, with assistance from the Marshals Service, which is charged with protecting federal judges.

Attorney General William P. Barr said, “This kind of lawless, evil action carried out against a member of the federal judiciary will not be tolerated, and I have ordered the full resources of the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service to investigate the matter.”

Authorities have not given any indication of a motive in the shooting. Womack, who is friends with Salas and her husband, told ABC News that he wasn’t aware of any specific threat against the judge.

“As a judge, she had threats from time to time, but everyone is saying that recently there had not been any,” Womack said.

Lawyer Roy Den Hollander, who was found dead on July 20, was the “primary subject” in a shooting at a federal judge’s New Jersey home. (Video: Reuters)

Salas, 51, is New Jersey’s first Hispanic woman to serve as a U.S. District Court judge. President Barack Obama nominated her for the position in 2010, and she was confirmed by the Senate in 2011. Salas previously served as a federal magistrate judge in New Jersey.

She has presided over a number of high-profile cases, including the criminal trial of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” stars Joe and Teresa Giudice. Salas sentenced them each to prison for crimes including tax evasion.

She has been on the bench for recent cases involving the Grape Street Crips, a gang charged with running a drug trafficking operation, according to N.J. Advance Media. Salas has more recently taken on a lawsuit brought by Deutsche Bank investors alleging the bank failed to follow its anti-money-laundering policies by taking on “high-risk” clients including Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) said in a statement, “Judge Salas and her family are in our thoughts at this time as they cope with this senseless act.”