N.J. federal judge who was targeted in home shooting says SCOTUS Justice Sonia Sotomayor was also targeted

NORTH BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY – JULY 20: A view of the home of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas. on July 20, 2020 in North Brunswick, New Jersey. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

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UPDATED 1:45 PM PT – Saturday, February 20, 2021

A New Jersey federal judge who was targeted in a fatal shooting said the suspected shooter also had his eye on a Supreme Court justice. During an interview Friday, U.S. District Judge Esther Salas claimed investigators found a folder with information regarding Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Last July, a gunman dressed as a delivery person opened fire on Salas’s home. He wounded her husband and killed her 20-year-old son before shooting himself. The gunman reportedly tried a case in Salas’s court and allegedly held prejudicial views against Latina judges.

NORTH BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY – JULY 20: A view of the home of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

“We need to understand that judges are at risk,” Salas said to interviewer Bill Whitaker. “We need to realize that we put ourselves in great danger, every day for doing our jobs.”

U.S. District Judge Esther Salas says the FBI found evidence that the man who killed her son also targeted Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Bill Whitaker reports, Sunday. https://t.co/RZn8X3QjEK pic.twitter.com/kBuQPvzR1i

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) February 19, 2021

Since the shooting, Salas has pushed for legislation to scrub judges’ personal information from the internet. This came as reports showed a 400 percent surge in death threats against federal judges.

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