Roy Den Hollander, the suspected gunman at home of judge Esther Salas, was a rabid anti-feminist.
The self-avowed "anti-feminist" lawyer suspected of opening fire at the home of a federal judge publicly railed against her in racist and misogynistic screeds he posted online.
Roy Den Hollander, who shot himself to death on Monday, had a case pending before Esther Salas, whom he alternately derided as "lazy and incompetent" and a "hot Latina judge."
Den Hollander, 72, is the primary suspect in a Sunday shooting rampage at the front door of Salas' home in New Jersey, which killed her 20-year-old son, Daniel Anderl, and critically injured her 63-year-old husband, noted defense attorney, Mark Anderl.
Daniel was their only child and was home from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he was an incoming junior.
Den Hollander posed as a FedEx delivery man, authorities said. His case before Salas concerned a legal challenge to the male-only military draft. He wrote online that he had recently asked another attorney to take over the case, saying he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
“The case began over the July 4th weekend of 2015, and was assigned to this hot Latina Judge in the U.S. District Court for New Jersey whom Obama had appointed,” he wrote in a 1,700-page online book that he dedicated to his mother, "may she rot in hell," he wrote.
“At first, I wanted to ask the Judge out, but thought she might hold me in contempt," he said.
On Tuesday, federal officials said they were investigating whether there was a connection between Den Hollander and the July 11 slaying of another men’s rights lawyer, Marc Angelucci, in California. Angelucci was shot at his front door by a gunman wearing a FedEx uniform, according to reports.
Federal officials contacted New York state Chief Judge Janet M. DiFiore after her name and photo were found in the car where Den Hollander killed himself with a gun, according to a court spokesman. The FBI agents did not indicate whether Den Hollander had intended to target DiFiore, the spokesman said.
Den Hollander identified with male groups that bashed "feminazis," claiming women's rights advocates had usurped the rights of white men.
In another posting he suggested ways to deal with “Political Commies” and feminists.
“Things begin to change when individual men start taking out those specific persons responsible for destroying their lives before committing suicide,” he wrote.
He had a history of lawsuits against programs that he believed favored women, including nightclubs that offered reduced drink prices on "Ladies Night" and Columbia University's women's studies department.
In 2008 he told The New York Times that his anger toward feminists stemmed from his bitter divorce from a woman he married in Russia, who later divorced him after they moved to the United States.
In a Fox News appearance that same year he called women the "real oppressors." His seemingly frivolous lawsuits drew national attention and landed him spots on Fox and Comedy Central.
Den Hollander also wrote of female jurists in his online manifesto.
"Female judges didn’t bother me as long as they were middle age or older black ladies. They seemed to have an understanding of how life worked and were not about to be conned by any foot dragging lawyer.
"Latinas, however, were usually a problem — driven by an inferiority complex. After Salas agreed to allow the DOJ its fourth motion to dismiss, I checked her bio. It was the usual effort to blame a man and turn someone into super girl — daddy abandoned us, we were indigent, which means they lived off of the taxpayer, but we overcame all odds," he wrote.
"Right, affirmative action got her into and through college and law school," he said.
Salas, the first Hispanic woman to serve on New Jersey's federal bench, was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2011.
The 51-year-old was born in California to a Cuban immigrant mother and Mexican father, but grew up in Union City, New Jersey.
She helped her family escape a devastating house fire, and acted as her mother's translator and advocate, arguing the family's case to welfare officials, according to a 2018 magazine profile.
In the article, she talked of her son possibly wanting to follow his parents' footprints into a legal career.
"He's been arguing with us since he could talk — practicing his advocacy skills," she told New Jersey Monthly. "I don't want to dissuade him, but I was pulling for a doctor."
Daniel Anderl had planned to attend law school. He made the dean's list this spring.
"I was shocked last night to hear news of Daniel Anderl's tragic death Sunday evening in New Jersey. Daniel was a rising junior, enrolled for classes beginning in the next few weeks," Catholic University President John Garvey wrote on Twitter. "He turned 20 last week."
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