Credit: Hezakya Newz/The Lancing State Journal
35-year-old Joshua Harding, from Michigan, who was in court for 'second degree sexual conduct', (of which he was found guilty), attempted to stab Jonathan Ross, as assistant prosecutor, at the trial.
Harding brandished a shank knife he'd somehow managed to get into the courtroom and he tried to lunge at those producing a case against him.
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Here is the horrifying footage.
Credit: Hezakya Newz/The Lancing State Journal
He was eventually handcuffed after being tackled by security and will now face added charges, as reported by WLNS. A county sheriff deputy was injured in the melee.
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Harding's own legal representative, John Frawley, has decided not to represent him anymore after the ordeal. He also said:
"It was very scary and it was a big, physical confrontation. There were some pretty big people involved in a very loud kind of event. So, yeah it was frightening. The other deputies were immediately engaged. It was amazing how fast it occurred."
Although members of the public have to go through an X-ray machine to enter court, inmates do not, so it is likely Harding will have got the knife from Ingham County Jail, where he was frequenting before entering the courtroom.
Harding will come back for sentencing on September 21.
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Words Patrick Hulbert
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