On January 3rd, 2024, a three-time felon named Deobra Redden was captured on a video that went viral on streaming platforms all over the world, attacking Judge Mary Kay Holthus during his court case in Nevada. Redden was originally charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon in connection to a baseball bat attack, pleading guilty in November.
He was found guilty of a reduced battery charge and was released from custody under a deal between his defense attorney and prosecutors. Redden was also supposed to serve prison time following a third-offense domestic battery conviction in 2021.
In a failed attempt to convince the judge that he had moved on from his violent past, Redden was enraged when she declared that she still intended to send him to prison for his previous actions. Judge Holthus responded to Redden’s pleading, saying she “appreciate[s] that, but [she thinks] it’s time that [he] get[s] a taste of something else”, according to USA Today.
The judge was preparing to sentence Redden to prison when he launched himself over the defense table and leaped over a bench to attack her, dragging her to the ground. He was quickly wrangled off by a clerk and multiple officers while still attempting to pursue the attack on the judge.
After previously being freed while awaiting his initial sentencing, Redden was sent back to jail on a $54,000 bail with charges stemming from the attack. He had told some corrections officers that he “had a bad day and tried to kill her”, admitting his true intentions. He faces 13 new charges including coercion with force, extortion, intimidation of a public officer, multiple counts of battery on a protected person and attempted murder.
Redden met with Judge Mary Kay Holthus again on January 8th to re-discuss his new sentence in shackles, orange mitts on his hands and a mask covering half of his face. He was closely watched by jail security guards throughout the court case.
Holthus wanted to make it clear that she did not modify the sentence she was in the process of giving the week before the interruption of the defendant’s attack, according to AP News. The sentence for Redden’s original offense could last up to 4 years, although he could be paroled in 19 months depending on his behavior in prison.
Redden is ordered to appear before a different judge regarding 13 new felony and misdemeanor charges related to the courtroom attack at a later date. There’s a possibility that he could face decades in prison if he’s convicted.
