MSNBC anchor Nicolle Wallace teared up on her show Tuesday afternoon as a federal judge talked about the 2020 killing of her son, who was shot dead by a gunman posing as a FedEx delivery driver in an attack meant for the judge.
Daniel Anderl, the 20-year-old son of U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas, was killed in July 2020 in a targeted attack at their family home in New Jersey. Roy Den Hollander opened fire when Anderl answered the door. Anderl was shot in the chest and died of his injuries. Mark Anderl, his father, was critically wounded in the shooting.
Authorities said the attack was believed to be targeting the judge. Hollander, who described himself as an anti-feminist lawyer, had previously argued a case before Salas and wrote disparaging comments about her in his autobiography.
In the years since the killing, Salas has worked to improve the safety of federal judges, including helping to pass legislation that makes it a crime to publish personal information of federal judges and their families online.
ALSO READ: 'Not much I can do': GOP senator gives up fight against Trump's tariffs
Salas joined Wallace's show "Deadline: White House" on Tuesday afternoon after the Trump administration got a sharp rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts, who called impeachment calls for judges "not an appropriate response to any disagreement with any judge's decision."
Wallace welcomed Salas to the show to talk about the threats against judges.
"None of them are just words because you never know which one will be realized," said Wallace. "How do we deepen our ability to talk about them as not one-offs?"
Salas said her and her son's story should serve as a "reminder" to Americans that "words matter" — and that there are "unintended consequences that I bet when some people are saying things they don't mean to happen."
She recounted her son's killing and said she worries "we forget how much influence our leaders have" — specifically, "people in positions of power that have big platforms."
Salas said she worries for her fellow judicial colleagues.
"We are seeing things that we have never seen before, right?" she said, comparing the rhetoric to a "bonfire that's been burning for years."
"It's not slowing down, and instead of us trying to squelch it, we're adding fuel and we're adding lumber and this thing is getting bigger and bigger," she added.
Wallace and Salas became choked up as Salas said she knows the value of human life.
"I lost the most important thing in my life," she said, holding back tears. "And once that genie is out of the bottle, there's no putting it back."
She begged Americans to tamp down the rhetoric.
"Because God forbid someone is killed, there's no turning back for that family," she warned.
Salas later added: "I have to live with the fact that my job cost me the life of my only child" and demanded America's leaders do more to lead.
