Judge whose son was killed says more must be done to protect judges after Kavanaugh threat

U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, whose son was murdered in their home in 2020 by a man targeting her, urged Congress to take action Wednesday to protect judges after officials charged a man with attempted murder outside Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home earlier in the day.

In an interview on Fox’s “America Reports,” Salas urged Congress to pass the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act — named after her son — which would boost security for federal judges and place restrictions on the distribution of federal judges’ personal information.

“The fact of the matter is, I do have to say that the rule of law is not different for Republicans. The rule of law is not different for Democrats,” Salas told Fox host John Roberts. “The rule of law is what this country has been founded on, and we as judges, our democracy, it mandates that we pass the Daniel Anderl bill and do it now. Enough is enough.”

“I think that members of Congress can see the escalation in the numbers of threats against judicial officers,” Salas said. “It’s just got to stop.”

Salas has been outspoken about increasing protection for judges since the 2020 attack on her home — carried out by a man who described himself as an “anti-feminist” — that killed her son and critically injured her husband.

Last month, she said in an interview that “nothing is being done to protect” federal judges and that Congress should pass the same security measures for them that they have done for Supreme Court justices.

“We do our jobs, we take an oath because we care about this country, because we care about democracy. And to do our jobs and to only be doing our jobs and to be fear of retribution, retaliation or death is not part of the deal, should never be part of the deal,” Salas said last month.

The suspect in the attempted murder of Kavanaugh, 26-year-old California resident Nicholas John Roske, told a detective “that he was upset about the leak of a recent Supreme Court draft decision regarding the right to abortion as well as the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas,” according to the arrest affidavit.

Roske faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.