On Wednesday, January 3, Clark County District Judge Mary Kay Holthus was physically attacked in the courtroom after she granted Deobra Redden probation. The latter can be seen in the video, which has gone viral on the internet, jumping on the former’s table in an attempt to hurt the judge. The defendant is now charged with battery.
According to USA Today, Deobra Redden’s counsel asked the judge to grant probation to the defendant. The 30-year-old was hauled into court to face a charge of attempted violence with serious bodily harm.
This follows his guilty plea and conviction on three felony charges, including battery with serious bodily harm in 2018, battery constituting domestic violence in 2021, and attempted theft in 2015.
He was also convicted of a minor assault offense in 2016. In 2023, he faced a similar charge of property destruction.
Redden remarked just before he attacked Mary Kay Holthus:
“I feel like I shouldn’t be sent to prison, but if it’s appropriate for you, then you gotta do what you gotta do.”
Before the violent attack, Judge Holthus said before the proceedings began, with Redden’s attorney demanding probation:
“I appreciate that but I think it’s time he gets a taste of something else because I just can’t with that history.”
Deobra Redden then yelled expletives before hitting the judge who was sitting at the courtroom bench. In viral videos, the former can be seen being restrained by security officers.
In 2018, Mary Kay Holthus was elected to the Clark County District Court
Mary Kay Holthus, a judge of the Eighth Judicial District Court in Clark County, Nevada, assumed the bench in 2018. She was re-elected in consecutive elections as well. She returned to the role after more than 27 years with the Clark County District Attorney’s Office.
Mary began working in the office in 1991. Holthus began her legal career in general litigation before joining the Crimes Against Women and Children Unit, where she spent 16 years prosecuting cases including domestic violence, child abuse, and s*xual abuse.
Judge Mary Kay Holthus earned her bachelor’s degree at the State University of New York at Binghamton and her law degree at Villanova University’s Charles Widger School of Law in 1989.
The native of upstate New York is married with three grown children.
Deobra Redden is facing what other charges?
Deobra Redden was booked into the Clark County Detention Center after the attack on Judge Mary Kay Holthus. He is facing additional charges of battery and battery on a protected person resulting in significant bodily harm, as well as two counts of battery on a protected person.
Following the attack, a marshal participating in the altercation was taken to the hospital when a court alarm went off. Another officer confirmed that Judge Holthus was not injured.
The main county district attorney, Richard Scow, who prosecuted Redden for a baseball bat attack, addressed the new attack. Scow stated in an interview with the Washington Times- “it happened so fast it was hard to know what to do.” Redden’s attorney Caesar Almase had not publicly addressed the fight at the time of writing this article.
