Deobra Delone Redden, 30, was going down for a while on a felony battery charge. After attacking Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus, though, he'll be going down for a whole a lot longer. Redden faces 13 more charges, reports USA Today, including coercion with force, intimidation of a public officer, extortion, and multiple counts of battery on a protected person. Holthus and a deputy sustained minor injuries after Redden attacked her in court.
During the hearing, Redden, who was unshackled standing next to his attorney, said to the judge, "I'm a person who will never stop trying to do the right thing, no matter how hard it is… I'm trying."
She responded "I appreciate that, but I think it's time that you get a taste of something else because I just can't with that history."
"Naw (expletive) that," he immediately exclaimed then ran towards the judge flinging himself over the bench, pulling her to the floor by her hair.
Diba Mohtasham writes that attacks on judges are uncommon and the action is in family court.
Most courtrooms have heavy security and defendants are often shackled or handcuffed, explains James T. Richardson, a professor of sociology and judicial studies at the University of Nevada, Reno.
In 2021, there were more than 4,500 threats and other potentially dangerous interactions toward judges, according to the U.S. Marshals Service, which protects federal judges, among other duties. Since 1979, four federal judges have been murdered.
"Family court judges are more prone to experience threats or violence mainly because they are dealing with highly emotional family matters such as child custody and claims of domestic violence," says Richardson.
