Judge rules B.J. Penn mentally fit to stand trial after string of 2025 arrests

UFC Hall of Famer B.J. Penn has been ruled mentally competent to stand trial, following a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation stemming from five arrests in 2025. Judge Peter Kubota signed the order on May 29, finding by a preponderance of the evidence that Penn is fit to proceed, with neither the prosecution nor defence contesting the evaluator’s findings.

Penn is now required to appear in a Hawaii court on August 28 for further proceedings related to his criminal case, which was first reported by Hawaii News Now.

The arrests began after Penn’s mother, Lorraine Shin, contacted police on two separate occasions alleging abuse of a family or household member. Shin was subsequently granted a restraining order against her son, which Penn allegedly violated multiple times, triggering additional arrests and bringing the total to five.

Shin accused Penn of “extreme psychological abuse” and told police she believed her son was suffering from Capgras delusional syndrome — a psychiatric disorder in which a person becomes convinced that a close family member has been replaced by an identical imposter. Penn had allegedly been claiming that members of his family had been “killed” and substituted by imposters.

The allegations escalated through a series of incidents. Shin told police she returned home from a trip to find all of her belongings removed from her bedroom, and later reported her purse stolen from a safe. On a separate occasion, she claimed Penn had placed duct tape over her security cameras and glued the deadbolt lock on her bedroom door. Shin also accused him of stealing her mail, and alleged that when she confronted him after locating the mail in a vehicle belonging to one of his friends, Penn grabbed her arms and shoved her against the car.

Following his initial arrest, Penn was ordered to stay away from his mother for 48 hours. Shin alleged he returned to the home regardless, and presented video evidence to police, resulting in a second arrest within two days.

Penn, 46, is a two-division UFC champion and was inducted into the promotion’s Hall of Fame. He has not competed professionally since 2019.