Judge Attacked in Courtroom in Viral Video Said She Thought She Was Going to Die, as Suspect Pleads Guilty

Video of the attack went viral, showing Deobra Redden charge the judge's bench and jump over to attack Judge Mary Kay Holthus

The judge who was the victim of a viral courtroom attack earlier in 2024 said she thought she was going to die while testifying in court this week at the suspect's trial on an attempted murder charge — the only one of multiple charges to which he has not pleaded guilty.

Judge Mary Kay Holthus recounted the Jan. 3 attack in court Thursday, recalling how Deobra Redden suddenly ran towards her during a court appearance, jumped over the bench and attacked her during a court appearance after failing to appear for a previous hearing last year.

The video was widely shared across social media, showing Redden, 31, going airborne and throwing his entire body at the 62-year-old judge after he charged the bench.

Redden pleaded guilty but mentally ill to all but one of seven charges brought against him related to the courtroom attack, according to local KTNV. He pleaded not guilty to an attempted murder charge.

KLAS reported that Redden could be sentenced to up to three years in prison.

Holthus was reportedly choking back tears as she testified this week, recalling that she was frightened for her life in the moments after Redden’s “superhuman” jump over the four-foot judge’s bench.

“I remember him coming at me and I really didn’t think he could make contact—it was like a crash sound,” Holthus told the court, according to KLAS. “He had me by the hair and I was still getting hit in the head.”

The judge recalled: “I just remember saying, ‘Help! Help! Somebody get him off!’ In my head, I was just completely defenseless. It was scary. I didn’t think I was going to get out of there.”

Holthus’ law clerk Michael Lasso helped pull Redden off her along with a few others. Lasso can be seen immediately jumping up to defend the judge as Redden rushes towards the bench.

“I literally rolled under my bench in the fetal position,” Holthus testified, according to KLAS. “I remember thinking, ‘Why is it taking so long?’ There was chaos in the courtroom.”

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The judge told lawyers that she didn’t recall whether Redden had made threats or said if he was going to try and kill her.

Redden’s lawyer Carl Arnold told the court that his client was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and that he was not on medication prescribed to him by a mental health institution for several months before the attack, according to KTNV. Arnold said that Redden did not intend to kill Holthus when he jumped over the bench.

“That’s going to be the big question that you guys are going to have to deal with at closing,” Redden’s attorney, Carl Arnold, told the jury. “Did he have the intent to go ahead and kill?”

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