An Arkansas lawmaker seeking a county judgeship has been taken into custody after allegations that he assaulted his wife.
Austin McCollum, 35, a Republican state representative and candidate for Benton County judge, was arrested on Saturday and stepped down from his legislative seat on Wednesday.
According to his wife, Ragen McCollum, 34, the incident began after the couple returned home from a wedding on Saturday, when she said Austin “got mad and started throwing things at me.”
In her petition, she alleged that the objects thrown at her included shoes, a deodorant bottle and a metal hanger.
She also claimed he prevented her from leaving the bedroom, writing that he blocked the doorway by sitting or standing in front of it.
“At some point he threw me face down on the bed and put both knees (and full body weight) on my back, holding my arms back. Then he removed his left knee and slid his right knee to the back of my neck, pushing my face into the mattress so that I couldn’t breathe,” she alleged in the filing.
Ragen further alleged that Austin mocked her before she managed to reach the door and open it, only for him to slam it on her hand repeatedly, according to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
She claimed that as she pleaded for him to let her leave, he “punched me multiple times.”
Austin McCollum, 35, a former state representative running as a Republican candidate for Benton County judge, was arrested Saturday and resigned from office Wednesday
Wife Ragen (pictured left) has accused her husband of brutal abuse, including dragging her around by the hair and punching her
‘There was blood everywhere and I couldn’t see. He grabbed my hair and slammed my head to the ground multiple times.’
The petition continues to claim that he continued to attack her as she crawled to the door before he let her up.
‘He finally let me up and began telling me to clean up and shower so that he could help stop the bleeding,’ she wrote.
Ragen then ran down the stairs to find her grandmother before yelling for someone to call 911, the petition states.
The story matches an affidavit after Austin was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of aggravated assault on a family or household member, false imprisonment in the first degree and misdemeanor domestic battery.
Authorities claimed they found Austin intoxicated and with blood on his legs and arms, as well as injuries consistent with punching someone repeatedly on his knuckles when they made it out to their home.
Ragen’s order of protection was granted by the county court.
Austin, who refused to give police a statement, has not yet been formally charged, with a hearing set in county court on the order of restraint set for August 25.
Authorities claimed they found Austin (pictured) intoxicated and with blood on his legs and arms, as well as injuries consistent with punching someone repeatedly on his knuckles when they made it out to their home
Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (pictured center) called for McCollum (pictured right) to resign
He was released Sunday on $10,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned on September 8.
She filed for an order of protection in the county’s circuit court Wednesday and documented how he allegedly abused her on several occasions.
The disturbing allegations include a story where she tried to leave a room to get away from her husband before he pushed her down a flight of stairs.
In one shocking story, following Austin yelling at her in their car on a drive home, she got out of the car and slammed the door when Austin drove the car forward into her with their two children sleeping in the car.
She threw her cellphone at the windshield out of fear and as she went to check on her children, her four-year old son asked her why he had tried to hit her.
She also accuses Austin of putting her in a headlock, choking her to the point of being unable to breathe and dragging her by the hair from one room to another.
Ragen testifies in the petition that she’s broken her hand trying to punch Austin in self-defense.
‘He has threatened me to not speak out by saying he is ‘building a case against me’ and that I’ll never see my children,’ she wrote.
McCollum announced he was resigning as a state representative in a letter published Wednesday, The Arkansas Advocate reported.
‘As I focus on my family, I do not intend to fulfill the remainder of my House term,’ McCollum wrote.
‘I am thankful to the people of House District 8 for the honor of serving all of Arkansas these past nearly 10 years.’
Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Senator Tom Cotton were among those calling on McCollum to resign.
He has yet to confirm whether he’s dropping out of the county judge’s race.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Austin McCollum’s attorney for comment.
