LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – The Las Vegas law clerk who was seen on camera jumping into action to protect a judge being attacked by a defendant shared his story on Wednesday.
8 News Now first broke the story last week and was the only station to go back to the courtroom as Michael Lasso described what took place.
“This is kind of where it all happened,” Lasso told 8 News Now, referencing the judge’s bench.
He detailed a day he never expected and now said he will never forget.
The law clerk, seen in a now-viral video of a Las Vegas courtroom, jumping into action after a man attacked Judge Mary Kay Holthus during a sentencing hearing last week.
“He went, jumped over that defense desk,” Lasso explained, referencing the courtroom. “Kinda ran over here, hopped this, and that was where the judge was sitting.”
Deobra Redden, a three-time felon, faces 13 new charges connected to the attack, including attempted murder.
“The video doesn’t really do it justice,” Lasso recalled of the attack. “To just how fast it was.”
Lasso, who was sitting right next to Judge Holthus when Redden leaped over the bench to attack her, said that sheer speed and adrenaline forced him to react, as he immediately jumped to grab the defendant and wrestle him away from the judge.
Many, including Chief Judge Jerry Wiese of Clark County District Court, call Lasso a hero.
“Her law clerk was probably the primary person that pulled the defendant off of her and prevented her from having more serious injuries,” Chief Judge Wiese said during a news conference last week. “So we commend him for that.”
However, Lasso told 8 News Now he was doing what was right at the moment.
“I think anyone in my position would have done the same,” he said. “Whether it was for Judge Holthus or anyone else.”
While he said he and others who were there that day took a while to digest what happened, he’s glad he was able to keep others in the room safe.
“It’s just something that you really wouldn’t expect,” Lasso concluded. “And something that honestly shouldn’t have ever happened.”
Lasso said because the attack was so fast, it was difficult to know what Redden was going to do at the moment it happened. He said everyone there did everything possible to stop him.
Lasso also told 8 News Now he was originally not supposed to work the day of the attack, but decided to come in for the first court date after the new year.
He also acted as the law clerk for Judge Holthus during Monday’s continuation of Redden’s original sentencing hearing.
Redden was seen wearing a mask and gloves, he was also surrounded by court marshals and several Metro officers.
Redden is due back in court for the charges connected to the courtroom attack on February 14.
