Former UFC two-division champion BJ Penn was arrested again Tuesday afternoon after an alleged assault in Hilo, Hawaii. Penn has been arrested six times since Memorial Day weekend.
Penn, 46, has been charged with third-degree assault after allegedly punching and kicking a man at a residence early Tuesday morning. In a statement Wednesday, Hawaii police said they responded to the scene at 1 a.m. after the alleged victim was able to leave the area and contact police. The victim later sought treatment at a nearby hospital for his injuries, and Penn was taken into custody the following afternoon without incident.
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Penn’s bail was set at $1,000 by the UFC Hall of Fame. His court hearing is scheduled for December 2.
The latest incident continues a troubled year for Penn, who has been arrested five times by Hawaii police since late May in an ongoing dispute with his 79-year-old mother, in which Penn says his family was killed and replaced by imposters. Penn is currently facing multiple criminal charges for a series of incidents, including battery on a family member, refusing to obey a police officer and violating a restraining order.
In October, a Hill District Court judge ordered Penn to undergo a mental health evaluation, which was scheduled for Jan. 9, to determine his competency to stand trial and face criminal charges on the multiple charges against him.
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In late August, Judge Jeffrey Ng granted Penn’s mother, Lorraine Shin, a one-year protective order against Penn that prevents her son from contacting her in any way until 2026. May 26 Shin substantiated his claim of “domestic abuse and/or extreme psychological abuse” at trial, and alleged that Penn suffers from a syndrome known to the family, which he called the rare Capgra Syndrome. pretenders
Penn was arrested on May 25 and 26, and later on May 30, June 12. and September 16 for allegations related to the situation.
Penn has made several posts on his social media accounts over the past year claiming that his family members have been replaced by imposters, with his mother in particular.
In Shin’s original request for a restraining order, she said her son was behaving in a disturbing manner. When she returned from her trip in early May, Shin said she noticed many of her belongings, “like clothes, shoes, jewelry, personal items,” and even her bed had been moved out of the bedroom. Shin filed a police report after Penn denied taking the items, and a few days later her purse “with my driver’s license, credit card and the locks on my safe” was also stolen.
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Shin said she then installed security cameras inside and outside the house and installed a lock on her bedroom door. According to Shin, Penn removed or damaged the cameras and “also put glue on my dead bolts that kept the bedroom door from opening.”
Shin claimed Penn stole her mail and aggressively shone a flashlight in her face on the night of May 25. In an effort to prevent her from calling the police, Shin claimed that Penn “grabbed my arms and pushed me into a 4-door gray sedan that caused severe back pain,” so she yelled for Penn’s younger brother, Reagan, to come help. Penn was eventually arrested and ordered to stay away from his mother’s home for 48 hours, but Shin claimed he caught Penn breaking into her home again the next day. As a result, Penn was again arrested for violating a police order.
Penn last fought in the UFC in 2019, suffering his seventh straight loss. He was later released by the UFC after a video was released showing Penn in a street brawl outside a Hawaiian bar.