Former Acting Us Attorney Found Dead In San Diego Federal Office Building

Former twice acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California Andrew Haden was found dead this week in the downtown San Diego federal building that houses the prosecutors’ office, officials confirmed Friday.

Authorities said no foul play is suspected.

Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California Adam Gordon confirmed Haden’s death in a statement shared Friday with POLITICO.

“This is one of the darkest days in our office’s history, but there was nothing dark about Andrew Haden’s life,” Gordon said in the statement. “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.”

San Diego police responded to a missing persons call late Wednesday evening, when they discovered a man deceased in an office at 880 Front St. in Downtown San Diego, authorities said in a statement.

According to police, investigators responded to the scene “out of an abundance of caution,” but are not treating Haden’s death as suspicious. The official cause of death will be determined by the county Medical Examiner’s Office.

A career federal prosecutor, Haden first joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2010, according to a press release. During his subsequent tenure, he served twice as the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California, filling vacancies during leadership transitions in 2023 and 2025.

Haden briefly ran the office in 2025 after President Donald Trump ordered the firing of then U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath — a Biden appointee.

A San Diego native, Haden received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Stanford University and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy, where he served for five years before receiving his law degree from the University of San Diego.