UFC legend B.J. Penn arrested for 6th time in 6 months in latest escalation of troubling year
Former UFC two-division champion BJ Penn was arrested once again Tuesday afternoon following an alleged assault in Hilo, Hawaii. Penn has been arrested six times since Memorial Day weekend.
Penn, 46, is charged with third-degree assault for allegedly punching and kicking a man at his home in the early morning hours Tuesday. In a statement released Wednesday, Hawaii police said they responded to the scene at 1 a.m. after the alleged victim left the area and contacted police. The victim later sought medical treatment for his injuries at a nearby hospital, and Penn was arrested without incident the following afternoon.
Advertising
As the UFC Hall of Famer announced, Penn’s bail was set at $1,000. The court date is scheduled for December 2.
The latest incident continues a troubling year for Penn, who has been arrested by Hawaii police five times since late May over an ongoing dispute with his 79-year-old mother; Penn claims that his family was murdered and replaced by impostors. Penn is currently facing multiple charges over a number of incidents, including abuse of a family member, refusing to comply with a police officer, and violating a restraining order.
In October, a Hilo Circuit Court judge ordered Penn to undergo a mental health examination, scheduled for Jan. 9, to determine his fitness to stand trial and whether he can be held criminally responsible for the multiple charges against him.
Advertising
Judge Jeffrey Ng granted Penn’s mother, Lorraine Shin, a one-year protective order against Penn in late August; This decision prevents his son from contacting him in any way before May 26, 2026. Shin proved “domestic violence and/or extreme psychological abuse” during court hearings, and Penn allegedly suffered from a rare psychological disorder known as Capgras syndrome, which caused him to believe that family members had been replaced by impostors.
Penn was arrested on consecutive May 25 and May 26, then May 30, June 12, and September 16 on charges related to the situation.
Last year, Penn shared numerous posts on his social media accounts in which he claimed that his family members had been replaced by impostors, focusing specifically on his mother.
In her initial request for a restraining order, Shin allegedly cited her son’s disruptive behavior. Shin said that after returning from a trip in early May, she noticed that many of her belongings “such as clothes, shoes, jewelry, personal belongings” had been removed from her bedroom and even her bed had been removed. Shin said she filed a police report after Penn refused to take the items, and a few days later her purse, “which contained my driver’s license, credit card and the locks to my safe,” was also stolen.
Advertising
Shin said he later installed security cameras inside and outside the house and also installed a deadbolt on the bedroom door. According to Shin, Penn took down or tampered with the cameras and “also put glue on my dead bolts that were preventing me from opening my bedroom door.”
Shin claimed that Penn then stole his mail and aggressively shined a flashlight in his face when confronted on the night of May 25. To prevent him from calling the police, Shin claimed that Penn “grabbed my arms and pushed me towards the gray 4-door sedan, followed by a sharp pain in my back” that caused Penn to scream for his younger brother Reagan to come help him. 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 his home again the next day. As a result, Penn was arrested again for violating the police order.
Penn last competed in the UFC in 2019, suffering his seventh consecutive loss. He was later released by the UFC after a video was released showing Penn in a street fight outside a Hawaiian bar.
