Watch: Dramatic moment man leaps over US courtroom bench to attack judge in Las Vegas

Judge left injured but did not need hospital treatment after being attacked by defendant during sentencing
Josh Salisbury4 January 2024

This is the shocking moment a man in a court case launches himself at a judge in a US courtroom.

Nevada judge Mary Kay Holthus fell back from her seat against a wall and suffered some injuries but was not hospitalised after the defendant, Deobra Delone Redden, launched himself at her.

The attack occurred about 11am at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

A courtroom marshal was also injured as he came to the judge's aid and was hospitalised for treatment of a gash on his forehead and a dislocated shoulder.

Redden, 30, was wrestled to the floor behind the judge's bench by several court and jail officers and courtroom staff members, including some who are seen throwing punches.

He was arrested and charged with multiple new felony charges including battery on a protected person, referring to the judge and court officers.

The defendant was initially in court over allegations that he attacked a person with a baseball bat, to which he pleaded guilty.

“It happened so fast it was hard to know what to do," said prosecutor Richard Scow.

Redden had asked the judge for leniency while describing himself as “a person who never stops trying to do the right thing no matter how hard it is,” saying he was “not a rebellious person”.

But as the judge made it clear she intended to put him behind bars, and as the court marshal moved to handcuff him, Redden shouted expletives and launched himself forward.

Judge Holthus, a career prosecutor with more than 27 years of experience, was elected to the state court bench in 2018 and again in 2022.

In a statement, a court spokesperson said officials were “reviewing all our protocols and will do whatever is necessary to protect the judiciary, the public and our employees."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in