New Jersey judge, whose son was killed in targeted attack, calls for change after Maryland judge's murder

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Federal Judge Esther Salas releases statement after her son was killed, husband was shot

U.S. District Judge Esther Salas speaks out for the first time after her son was killed and her husband was shot. She believes she was targeted by a 'madman' because of her position as a federal judge.

A New Jersey federal judge is calling for additional protections for those who work in the U.S. judicial system after a Maryland circuit court judge was fatally shot last week in what police are describing as a targeted attack.

Judge Andrew Wilkinson, 52, was found dead in his driveway outside his Hagerstown home just hours after he presided over a judgment hearing in the suspect's divorce case, during which he awarded full custody of the suspect's children to his soon-to-be ex-wife. Maryland police are still searching for suspect Pedro Argote.

"In my opinion, every state and territory in the United States should have laws protecting judges and should have laws that are aimed at judicial security," New Jersey federal judge Esther Salas told Fox News Digital. "There are a handful of states like New Jersey that have addressed judicial security head-on, and my hope and prayer is that states will follow New Jersey's lead, follow the federal legislation and create and enact their own laws that are aimed directly at the judiciary."

Salas lost her 20-year-old son in 2020 after he was fatally shot in a racially motivated attack targeting Salas.

SUSPECT VEHICLE IN MARYLAND JUDGE'S KILLING FOUND WHILE ALLEGED SHOOTER STILL ON THE RUN

The U.S. Marshals Service is now involved in the search for suspect Pedro Argote, inset, and are offering a $10,000 reward for information that could lead to his arrest. Judge Andrew Wilkinson, left, was found dead in his driveway hours after he presided over a judgment hearing in the suspect's divorce case. (Washington County Sheriff's Office/USMS/Julie E. Greene/Imagn)

The gunman, who was disguised as a delivery driver, killed Daniel Anderl and seriously injured Salas' husband, Mark Anderl.

Roy Den Hollander, who was upset over Salas' handling of his case, had created a step-by-step plan to target Salas and her family before executing the attack. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wounds days after killing Anderl. 

MARYLAND JUDGE KILLED IN ‘TARGETED ATTACK’ AFTER SUSPECT'S DIVORCE, CUSTODY HEARING: OFFICIALS

"My thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Wilkinson family. When I first read the news, I immediately just thought of his wife and their two children. Mark and I continue… to send them thoughts and prayers during this most difficult time that unfortunately, we know all too well," Salas said of the Wilkinson family.

New Jersey federal judge Esther Salas lost her 20-year-old son in 2020 after he was fatally shot in a racially motivated attack targeting Salas. (Fox News)

Violent, targeted attacks against judges are not entirely uncommon. 

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In June 2022, for example, a Wisconsin man shot and killed retired Juneau County Judge John Roemer 15 years after Roemer sentenced him to prison.

"This man went to the judge's home at 6:00 in the morning and assassinated the judge," Salas said of Roemer's murder. "These are the reasons that judicial officers need protections because there are people that harbor resentment, ill will. And those feelings can last."

This March 17, 2020, photo provided by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections shows Douglas K. Uhde, who was suspected in the shooting death of retired Juneau, Wis., County Judge John Roemer. (Wisconsin Department of Corrections via AP)

In December, President Biden signed the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act, which aims to protect judges' safety by protecting their personal information, into law, but Salas says more needs to be done to keep judges from falling victim to targeted crimes.

"[Judges] preside over cases in which, 50% of the time, there's someone unhappy with a ruling we've made."

— Judge Esther Salas

"We have seen, over the course of history, judicial officers pay the ultimate price for some of the decisions they've had to make," Salas said. "… Federally, we know the judges who have lost their lives in the line of duty. We know that the problem with the state system is that there is no central repository for any of this information, so we don't know how many judges at the state level, local and municipal and state court judges have lost their lives in the line of duty or who have been threatened."

From left: Mark Anderl, Judge Esther Salas and Daniel Anderl.

She added that there are more than a thousand "state and local judges serving their states proudly, and they deserve protection."

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"Our democracy mandates that we protect judicial officers. And I think that Judge Wilkinson's murder and his death is a painful reminder of what will happen if we don't take judicial security seriously," the judge said.

Maryland authorities found Argote's vehicle in a wooded area in Williamsport, Maryland, but they are still searching for the suspect in Wilkinson's killing.

Washington County Circuit Court Clerk Kevin Tucker, right, swears in Andrew Wilkinson as a circuit court judge on Jan. 10, 2020, as Wilkinson's wife, Stephanie, watches. (Julie E. Greene/Imagn)

The U.S. Marshals Service is now involved in the search for the 49-year-old suspect and is offering a $10,000 reward for information that could lead to his arrest.

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Argote does not have a criminal record in Washington County, but authorities have been called to his address for "verbal domestic assaults" twice within the last several years, according to Washington County Sheriff Brian Albert.

Anyone with information regarding Argote's whereabouts is urged to contact the Washington County Sheriff's Office at 240-313-2170 or the U.S. Marshals at 1-877-WANTED2.