Chaotic video shows defendant attack Las Vegas judge during sentencing
Shocking new video shows a man who was in the process of being sentenced in a Las Vegas courtroom launch himself over a judge's bench and attack her.
Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus tried to take cover when Deobra Redden yelled out expletives during the sentencing and ran at her. Video shows him flying over the bench and violently pull her to the floor.
Chaos then ensued with at least three other men in the courtroom struggling to pull Redden away from the judge. One of them, who could be a court clerk, is captured repeatedly hitting a combative Redden. Later, a woman is heard saying, "Please, God. Please, God. Please, Jesus," as the judge remains on the floor.
Redden, 30, was at the hearing for a charge of attempted battery with substantial bodily harm when he attacked Holthus, according to the court.
Who was hurt in the attack on Judge Mary Kay Holthus?
Authorities say the judge suffered minor injuries while a courtroom marshal suffered a bleeding gash on his forehead and a dislocated shoulder, according to The Associated Press.
"We commend the heroic acts of her staff, law enforcement, and all others who subdued the defendant," District Court spokeswoman Mary Ann Price told USA TODAY in a statement. "The court remains committed to a safe and secure courthouse and courtrooms. We are reviewing all our protocols and will do whatever is necessary to protect the judiciary, the public and our employees."
Voters elected Holthus to the bench in 2018 after she worked for the district attorney’s office for over 27 years, including 16 years as a prosecutor on the special victims' unit, according to the District Court’s website.
What did Judge Holhus say before the attack?
Before the attack, Redden’s attorneys had asked Holhus if they could grant their client probation, according to local station KLAS-TV.
"I appreciate that but I think it's time he gets a taste of something else because I just can't with that history," Holthus said right before Redden yelled expletives and jumped over the courtroom bench to attack her.
Redden has been convicted of three felonies
Redden has pleaded guilty to and been convicted of three felony charges, including attempted theft in 2015, battery with substantial bodily harm in 2018 and battery constituting domestic violence in 2021, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal.
In 2016, a court convicted him of a misdemeanor charge of battery. He also was convicted of a misdemeanor charge of destruction of property in 2023, court records show.
Redden pleaded guilty in November to the charge of attempted battery with substantial bodily harm, which brought him to court on Wednesday, the Journal reported. He has been booked to the Clark County Detention Center where he now faces charges of battery, battery on a protected person resulting in substantial bodily harm, as well as two counts of battery on a protected person.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Las Vegas judge attacked in court by defendant: See the video
