Las Vegas courtroom attack highlights issue of violence against judges: experts

 Violence against US judges is becoming a more pressing issue, according to experts, who reacted to the news of a Nevada judge being brutally attacked by a defendant who denied him probation on Wednesday.

Video footage of the attack, obtained by Fox 5 Las Vegas, which has gone viral on social media, shows defendant Deobra Redden turning herself in before Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus and a marshal after being denied probation is shown.

"There appears to be a trend toward anarchy... that has spread to different parts of the country. People see this type of behavior happening regularly, and it appears to be, and in fact, those There is a lack of accountability for those who commit "violence against other persons or property," Kevin Ellman, former senior deputy district attorney for Colorado's 18th Judicial District, told Fox News Digital.

“These actions are motivated by bond reform and the lack of prosecution policies being implemented in various jurisdictions.”

Elman & Elman P.C. Ellman, president of the FBI, said that, without accountability, criminals "are unrestrained and emboldened to execute themselves," especially if mental illness is a factor.

"Such attacks against a judge are rare, but are consistent with recent threats and protests outside judges' private residences when people are unhappy with a decision," Elman said.

"The recent ransacking of the Colorado Supreme Court building by an armed assailant is another example. Unless the perpetrators are held publicly accountable for the unacceptable attacks on the justice system (judges, prosecutors, lawyers, witnesses) "These types of attacks are bound to increase in frequency and violence."

The attack against Judge Holthus is one of several high-profile attacks against judges in recent years. In a similar case in February 2021, a defendant in a domestic violence case attempted to attack Pike County Judge Aubrey Rimes in a Mississippi courtroom. Rimes threw the defendant onto a table.

Video shows Nevada man jump and attack Clark County judge after being denied probation

Placeholder Retired Lt. Randy Sutton, a 30-year law enforcement veteran who served in Las Vegas and New Jersey, told Fox News that due to the prevalence of security personnel in most courthouses, "digital attacks against judges in the courtroom Attacks are relatively rare".

But "there have been many attacks on judges when they are not actually in the courtroom, including in their own homes and, of course, we have seen threats and protests at the homes of Supreme Court judges."

"Like other criminal activities that are on the rise, it is the lack of consequences or the perceived lack of consequences for threats and violence that drives these crimes."

"The lack of prosecution for threats and protests at the homes of Supreme Court justices is an example of this," Sutton said. "When a particularly threatening or violent defendant is being tried or arraigned, additional security personnel are often deployed to deal with potential threats. This is usually done by the court, security personnel or is accomplished by the county sheriff whose jurisdiction includes the courts."

Despite the rarity of physical attacks, the US Marshals Service recorded nearly 4,500 threats against US judges in 2022, Reuters reported, citing US Marshals Service Director Ronald Davis. Sometimes, criminals plot to kill judges – and some succeed.

In October, Maryland man Pedro Argote was named as a suspect in the murder of 52-year-old Maryland Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson at his Hagerstown home, just hours after presiding over a sentencing hearing in the suspect's divorce case. Was found dead in his driveway outside his home. , Wilkinson had given full custody of the suspect's children to his estranged wife.

In June 2022, a Wisconsin man shot and killed retired Juneau County Judge John Roemer, 15 years after Roemer sentenced him to prison.

Judge whose son was killed warns against protests at SCOTUS judges' homes: 'There's no place for this in America'

In 2020, New Jersey federal judge Esther Salas lost her son when Roy Den Hollander shot the 20-year-old in a racially motivated attack targeting Salas. The gunman, disguised as a delivery driver, killed Daniel Anderl and seriously injured Salas's husband, Mark Anderl.

Salas told Fox News on Thursday that the viral video of the attack against Judge Holthus is "an opportunity for America to see what judges face on a daily basis."

“That kind of anger, we experience in and out of the court.”

Salas believes more laws should be enacted to protect the approximately 30,000 judges in the United States.

"There are many states that don't have laws to protect judges, and I'm really talking about our personally identifiable information," she said. “But this is perhaps an example of tightening of the courts and protocols to protect judges in and out of the courtroom.”

In December, President Biden signed the Daniel Anderle Judicial Security and Privacy Act, which aims to protect the security of judges by protecting their personal information. But Salas says more needs to be done to protect judges from becoming victims of targeted crimes.