LAS VEGAS (AP) — Former “Dances with Wolves” actor Nathan Chasing Horse, who is accused of sexual abuse, was temporarily removed from the courtroom Monday as he disrupted proceedings by demanding that his defense attorney be fired a week before his trial.
Las Vegas Judge Jessica Peterson ordered the jury trial to proceed as scheduled next week.
Chasing Horse has pleaded not guilty to 21 charges, including accusations that he sexually assaulted women and girls and filmed himself sexually abusing a girl under 14. Prosecutors allege that he used his reputation as a spiritual leader and healer to exploit Native American women and girls for two decades.
Peterson ordered him removed from the courtroom Monday as he tried to speak for her. He argued that his attorney, Craig Mueller, failed to visit him and did not file documents in a timely manner. He asked a public defender who previously represented him to serve as his attorney.
Private defense lawyer Mueller told the court his client was prepared and told the judge privately that one of his investigators had visited the horse chasing company. He declined to comment to The Associated Press.
Chasing Horse, best known for his role as Smiley in the 1990 film Dances with Wolves, was born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, home to the Sikangu Sioux, one of the seven Lakota tribes.
After starring in the Oscar-winning film, Chase began identifying himself as a Lakota medicine man and performing healing rituals across North America, according to prosecutors. When he was arrested in 2023, he was living with his five wives in a house in North Las Vegas, according to prosecutors.
The case caused shock across India. In 2024, the original indictment was dismissed after the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors abused the grand jury process by introducing the definition of entrapment into evidence without any expert testimony. However, the court left open the possibility of refiling the charges, and a new indictment was filed later that year.
Prosecutors allege that Chai Ma led a cult called “The Circle” and that his followers believed he could talk to spirits. His victims sought medical help from him, according to transcripts of the grand jury hearing.
Prosecutors expect the trial to last three weeks. It is scheduled to begin on Monday.