On January 3 of 2024 in Las Vegas, a judge was brutally attacked by a defendant after being sentenced. The judge Mary Kay Holthus (62) who has been a judge since 2019, was sentencing the defendant Deobra Reddens (30) for some battery charges. While the sentencing was going on, he was trying to convince the judge that he had a sad past and that he should have a second chance and serve probation. Unfortunately, once he was found guilty of the charges and was denied probation, he grew furious, he then proceeded and yelled profanities, and jumped over the bench and attacked Judge Mary Kay. Once he was on top of her, he reportedly struck her multiple times on the head and while this happened a courtroom marshal tried to defend her and was attacked as well. Once some guards came and detained him, the judge suffered some minor injuries and the marshal had dislocated his shoulder and received a bleeding gash on his forehead.

6 days after the incident, the attacker Deobra Reddens was brought back to the courtroom only to be judged by the same judge whom he attacked earlier on. This time he was handcuffed, chained, and was forced to wear a mask so that he wouldn’t bite anyone. During the trial he stayed quiet and had the book thrown on him. He was charged with seven counts of battery on a protected person and battery in connection with last week’s attack. Finally, he was sentenced to 19 months to 4 years in prison. More time than what the judge had originally intended for him.