The first federal judge to be assassinated in the United States was John P. Slough. After being expelled from the bench in his native Ohio for punching a colleague, he ran an unsuccessful campaign to regain his position, narrowly losing to his opponent in a bitter recount vote. The Ohio Capital Journal reports that the defeated Slough packed up and moved westward, eventually settling in New Mexico. President Andrew Johnson appointed Slough to be the chief justice of the New Mexico Territorial Court, seeming to give the disgraced man a second chance.
It was in this state that Slough’s temper would eventually lead to his death. After Slough assaulted a state official that he believed had overlooked him for ceremonious duties, a member of the territory’s legislature, William Logan Rynerson, sponsored a resolution that declared Slough unfit for public office. In retaliation, Slough began a public campaign against Rynerson. According to the Ohio Capital Journal, he accused the lawmaker of being a “liar, a coward, and a thief.”
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Rynerson didn’t take the news of the bad PR very well. He confronted Slough in a hotel bar, where he demanded that the judge take back the remarks. Slough steadfastly refused, leading to Rynerson pulling a Derringer from his pocket and shooting his adversary. Slough died the next day. Rynerson was tried for murder but acquitted a year later on grounds of self-defense (via True West Magazine).
