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A former twice-acting U.S. attorney was found dead this week in a downtown San Diego federal building.
Andrew Haden, 48, a California native who headed the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, was found deceased Wednesday in the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building, which houses the prosecutor’s office.
Police officers responded to the scene and found Haden. He was reported missing before he was found.
“Out of an abundance of caution, SDPD investigators responded to the scene, and no foul play is suspected,” the San Diego Police Department told Digital.
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Andrew Haden, 48, was found dead inside an office at the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building Wednesday. Haden served twice as acting U.S. Attorney in San Diego. (Getty Images, Justice Department)
“This is one of the darkest days in our office’s history, but there was nothing dark about Andrew Haden’s life,” Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California Adam Gordon said in a statement to Digital.
“He was a beacon of light—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,” he added.
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Haden first joined the U.S. attorney’s office in 2010. (iStock)
Haden first joined the U.S. attorney’s office in 2010 and worked at the San Diego office for 16 years.
He served as acting U.S. attorney for the office after being selected to fill vacancies in 2023 and 2025. He ran the office after he was selected by President Donald Trump following the firing of U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath, a Biden appointee.
Scott C. Carr, executive director of the San Diego County Bar Association, said he was “devastated” to learn of Haden’s death. He recalled talking to Haden during the most recently government shutdown and the impact it was having on employees in his office and “how we was working to support his team any way that he could.”
“Andrew was always friendly with a kind word to say, which makes news of his passing all the more difficult,” Carr wrote. “My thoughts are with his family and his colleagues at the Southern District of California. Our legal community lost a good one.”
Haden served as acting U.S. attorney for the office after being selected to fill vacancies in 2023 and 2025. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images, File)
Haden, a Navy veteran with two overseas deployments, received his law degree from the University of San Diego.
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Defense attorney Jeremy Warren, who locked horns with Haden in previous courtroom battles, called Haden’s death “a huge blow to the entire federal community in San Diego.”
Warren noted that the face that “we remained friends throughout is a testament to the type of guy he was.”
