{"id":161374,"date":"2026-08-24T12:22:03","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T20:22:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/08\/24\/former-acting-u-s-attorney-found-dead-inside-federal-building\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T12:22:03","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T20:22:03","slug":"former-acting-u-s-attorney-found-dead-inside-federal-building","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/08\/24\/former-acting-u-s-attorney-found-dead-inside-federal-building\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Acting U.S. Attorney Found Dead Inside Federal Building"},"content":{"rendered":"

We have some truly tragic news to report out of California, where a longtime federal prosecutor who twice served as acting U.S. attorney has passed away.<\/p>\n

Andrew Haden, 48, was found dead last week inside a vacant office at the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building in downtown San Diego. Haden had reportedly been reported missing earlier that evening. Times of San Diego<\/a> has additional details:<\/p>\n

\n

Police confirmed in a statement that officers went to an office at 880 Front St. in downtown San Diego. That address houses the\u00a0U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cOut of an abundance of caution, SDPD investigators responded to the scene, and no foul play is suspected. The official cause and manner of death will be determined by the Medical Examiner,\u201d police spokesperson Ashley Nicholes said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As further reported by the Los Angeles Times, \u201c[e]vidence at the scene suggests Haden died by hanging himself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haden spent 16 years with the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Southern District of California, serving as acting U.S. attorney during leadership transitions in 2023 and 2025. Over the course of his career, he also served as chief of the office\u2019s Violent Crimes and Human Trafficking Section.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one of the darkest days in our office\u2019s history, but there was nothing dark about Andrew Haden\u2019s life,\u201d U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said in a statement. \u201cHe was a beacon of light \u2014 full of laughter, friendship, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to serving our community. We will honor his life and legacy by carrying his light forward, today and always.\u201d<\/p>\n

A San Diego native, Haden graduated from Stanford University before spending five years in the U.S. Navy, where he completed two overseas deployments. He later earned his law degree from the University of San Diego, where he also served as an adjunct professor.<\/p>\n

According to the Daily Voice<\/a>, the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office closed Thursday and Friday to give his colleagues time to grieve.<\/p>\n

Haden is survived by his wife and two school-aged children.<\/p>\n

We here at Above the Law extend our deepest condolences to Andrew Haden\u2019s family, friends, and colleagues during this extraordinarily difficult time.<\/p>\n

If you or someone you know is depressed and in need help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255<\/a>) or a\u00a0lawyer assistance program<\/a>\u00a0in your state (don\u2019t be fooled by the name; these programs also provide services to law students). Remember that you are loved, so please reach out if you need assistance.<\/p>\n

Former acting U.S. attorney for Southern District found dead inside federal building<\/a> [Times of San Diego]<\/p>\n

Former acting U.S. attorney found dead inside federal building in San Diego<\/a> [Los Angeles Times]<\/p>\n

US Attorney Andrew Haden Found Dead In Federal Building<\/a> [Daily Voice]<\/p>\n

\n
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<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Staci Zaretsky<\/a>\u00a0is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she\u2019s worked since 2011. She\u2019d love to hear from you, so please feel free to\u00a0email<\/a>\u00a0her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>,\u00a0X\/Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0Threads<\/a>, or connect with her on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Former Acting U.S. Attorney Found Dead Inside Federal Building<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Image via Getty)\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We have some truly tragic news to report out of California, where a longtime federal prosecutor who twice served as acting U.S. attorney has passed away.<\/p>\n

Andrew Haden, 48, was found dead last week inside a vacant office at the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building in downtown San Diego. Haden had reportedly been reported missing earlier that evening. Times of San Diego<\/a> has additional details:<\/p>\n

\n

Police confirmed in a statement that officers went to an office at 880 Front St. in downtown San Diego. That address houses the\u00a0U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cOut of an abundance of caution, SDPD investigators responded to the scene, and no foul play is suspected. The official cause and manner of death will be determined by the Medical Examiner,\u201d police spokesperson Ashley Nicholes said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As further reported by the Los Angeles Times, \u201c[e]vidence at the scene suggests Haden died by hanging himself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haden spent 16 years with the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Southern District of California, serving as acting U.S. attorney during leadership transitions in 2023 and 2025. Over the course of his career, he also served as chief of the office\u2019s Violent Crimes and Human Trafficking Section.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one of the darkest days in our office\u2019s history, but there was nothing dark about Andrew Haden\u2019s life,\u201d U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said in a statement. \u201cHe was a beacon of light \u2014 full of laughter, friendship, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to serving our community. We will honor his life and legacy by carrying his light forward, today and always.\u201d<\/p>\n

A San Diego native, Haden graduated from Stanford University before spending five years in the U.S. Navy, where he completed two overseas deployments. He later earned his law degree from the University of San Diego, where he also served as an adjunct professor.<\/p>\n

According to the Daily Voice<\/a>, the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office closed Thursday and Friday to give his colleagues time to grieve.<\/p>\n

Haden is survived by his wife and two school-aged children.<\/p>\n

We here at Above the Law extend our deepest condolences to Andrew Haden\u2019s family, friends, and colleagues during this extraordinarily difficult time.<\/p>\n

If you or someone you know is depressed and in need help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255<\/a>) or a\u00a0lawyer assistance program<\/a>\u00a0in your state (don\u2019t be fooled by the name; these programs also provide services to law students). Remember that you are loved, so please reach out if you need assistance.<\/p>\n

[Times of San Diego]<\/p>\n

[Los Angeles Times]<\/p>\n

US Attorney Andrew Haden Found Dead In Federal Building<\/a> [Daily Voice]<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Staci Zaretsky<\/a>\u00a0is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she\u2019s worked since 2011. She\u2019d love to hear from you, so please feel free to\u00a0email<\/a>\u00a0her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>,\u00a0X\/Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0Threads<\/a>, or connect with her on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We have some truly tragic news to report out of California, where a longtime federal prosecutor who twice served as acting U.S. attorney has passed away. Andrew Haden, 48, was found dead last week inside a vacant office at the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building in downtown San Diego. Haden had reportedly been reported missing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":161358,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-161374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Staci-Zaretsky-whL7o4.jpg?fit=150%2C100&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}