Anti-feminist suspect dead after son of federal judge killed, husband wounded

Den Hollander was a lawyer who filed suits alleging that women get special treatment in violation of the Constitution.

• By Scott Neuman and Vanessa Romo/NPR

(Trenton, N.J.) — The suspect in the shooting death of the son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas is dead, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey confirmed Monday afternoon.

The FBI had identified attorney Roy Den Hollander as the suspected gunman who attacked the home of a federal judge in New Jersey on Sunday.

The gunman allegedly shot and killed Daniel Anderl, Salas’ 20-year-old son, and wounded her husband, criminal-defense lawyer Mark Anderl, 63.

Salas was reportedly unharmed in the attack, the New Jersey Globe reports.

“Den Hollander is now deceased,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement. Officials did not provide any details about how or when the suspect died. However, New York state police say he was found dead Monday in Rockland, N.Y.

The investigation is still underway.

Den Hollander was a self-described anti-feminist lawyer who filed suits alleging that women get special treatment in violation of the Constitution. He also pushed to outlaw ladies’ nights at bars and college women’s studies programs.

A cached version of his website, which is now inaccessible, proclaimed, “Now is the time for all good men to fight for their rights before they have no rights left.”

He also accused all forms of government — from local to state to federal — of treating men as second-class citizens. “Need I say the courts are prejudiced, need I say they are useless, need I say it’s time for men to take the law into their hands?” he wrote on the site.

His disgust extended beyond women and what he called PC attitudes. He also espoused anti-immigrant sentiments on his website.

Media outlets report that the lawyer entered Salas’ home in North Brunswick, N.J., dressed as a FedEx driver.

Daniel Anderl, 20, was Salas’ only child and was home from college at the time of the attack. Salas’ husband, Mark Anderl, a criminal defense attorney and former assistant Essex County prosecutor, reportedly underwent surgery at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick and was listed in critical but stable condition.

The FBI in Newark, N.J., tweeted on Sunday that it was “investigating a shooting that occurred at the home” of Salas and that the bureau was “looking for one suspect.”

The FBI is investigating a shooting that occurred at the home of Judge Ester Salas in North Brunswick Township, New Jersey earlier this evening, July 19. We’re looking for one subject & ask that anyone who thinks they may have relevant information call us at 1-973-792-3001.

— FBI Newark (@FBINewark) July 20, 2020

Salas, the first Latina to serve as a federal district judge in New Jersey, was nominated to her current position in 2010 by President Barack Obama.

The Globe said it was not immediately clear whether Salas, who it said had received threats in the past, was the target of the shooting. She has presided over high-profile cases, including the 2013 fraud trial of The Real Housewives of New Jersey stars Joe and Teresa Giudice.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy tweeted late Sunday: “Judge Salas and her family are in our thoughts at this time as they cope with this senseless act.”

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said: “I know Judge Salas and her husband well, and was proud to recommend her to President Obama for nomination to NJ’s federal bench.”

“My prayers are with Judge Salas and her family, and that those responsible for this horrendous act are swiftly apprehended and brought to justice,” Menendez was quoted by the Globe as saying.