A young aspiring judge once tipped as a rising star of the Republican Party has been detained over his latest alleged behavior towards his spouse, who previously said he demanded she be a ‘Proverbs 31’ wife.
Austin McCollum, 35, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of felony stalking and violating a restraining order secured by his estranged wife, Ragen, 34, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the Daily Mail.
McCollum, who was taken to Benton County Jail in Bentonville, Arkansas, was previously charged with aggravated assault and domestic abuse against Ragen. He has denied each count.
In court documents detailing the alleged abuse, Ragen claimed her ex punched her in the face, ordered her to make out with other men, and that she had to resort to smoking marijuana before sex with him to avoid ‘flinching’ during the act.
McCollum was re-arrested this week, accused of violating Ragen’s restraining order by turning up at their children’s school, before staring her down the corridors and peering through her car windows, according to the affidavit.
Ragen previously told a court that her ex, who served on the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2017 until his resignation in the wake of the scandal, expressed his desire for her to be a ‘Proverbs 31’ wife.
That appeared to be a reference to a Biblical passage which calls on wives to devote themselves to caring for their husbands and children.
The domestic chaos unfolded while the McCollums appeared to be living a picture-perfect life in a $900,000 modern farmhouse in the rural Bible Belt. The judge and his Walmart HQ worker wife shared the stunning home with their four-year-old daughter, Eliza, and two-year-old son, Bankston, as McCollum rose through the political ranks.
Austin McCollum, a young Republican lawmaker who appeared to be living the dream in a charming $900,000 farmhouse with his beautiful wife and children has been arrested for alleged domestic violence. He is pictured above with his ex-wife, Ragen Ashlee McCollum
Ragen’s Instagram page still portrays a picture-perfect family life in Bentonville with their four-year-old daughter Eliza and two-year-old son Bankston
McCollum, who is still the current Republican nominee for judge in Benton County, Arkansas, has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
He was granted bail on Thursday afternoon and has since returned to his $1 million bachelor pad in Bentonville.
McCollum’s arrest came after Ragen was granted a restraining order against him in August, which prohibited him from coming within 1,500 feet of her home, workplace, and their children’s schools.
The case was thrust into the spotlight again this week after McCollum allegedly breached these conditions.
A new filing by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joshua Robinson states that McCollum allegedly turned up to their children’s school knowing Ragen would be there.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the Mail, Ragen had told her ex that she was planning to attend an Open House at Shiloh Christian School in Springdale between 9am and 10am on September 22.
McCollum had signed up for a separate tour at 11am, but prosecutors allege in the affidavit that he turned up early, seemingly to intercept Ragen.
The affidavit claims that he turned up just after 10am and located his ex-wife’s car in the parking lot, before peering into the vehicle.
He then walked into the school, escorted by a staff member, and began ‘looking down the hallway where Ragen was standing with a group,’ according to the filing.
McCollum is pictured leaving court following his bond hearing on Thursday. He was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly violating a restraining order and first-degree stalking of his ex-wife
McCollum was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of felony stalking and violating a restraining order secured by his estranged wife, Ragen. He has denied the allegations and is yet to enter formal pleas in court. His latest mugshot from earlier this week is pictured above
Austin has moved out of the couple’s $900,000 colonial farmhouse-style property (pictured) and relocated to a $1 million bachelor pad, records obtained by the Daily Mail show
McCollum drove away from the campus at about 10.30am, but returned less than 30 minutes later, when he began to ‘circle the parking lot’ against the flow of traffic.
He then parked in a spot where ‘Ragen would have to walk past him to get to her car,’ according to the affidavit.
Ragen was aware that her ex was apparently stalking her, and she asked an armed security guard from the school to walk her to her car, the legal document states.
Six days later, McCollum allegedly turned up at their son’s preschool, called Wee Friends School, around pickup time.
A teacher at the school said she saw the former politician staring at the entranceway as he drove past at about 5pm.
‘She said it wasn’t a one-time glance, but a continuous look at the school entrance as he drove in the opposite direction,’ the court filing reads.
Ragen was so disturbed by the apparent stalking, the affidavit asserts, that she ‘kept her children out of school’ the following day.
According to prosecutors, McCollum was spotted by a friend of Ragen’s walking past Wee Friends on September 29 at about 7am. The preschool was in the opposite direction to where McCollum lived.
McCollum is also accused of breaching the protection order by calling Ragen’s cell phone on August 19, though his attorney reported this incident as an accident and no further action was taken.
The McCollums are pictured attending a wedding in New York City in the summer of 2025
Former White House Press Secretary and current Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders called for McCollum to resign amid a cloud of disturbing domestic abuse allegations filed in court by Ragen on August 1. Huckabee Sanders is pictured center and McCollum on the right
Police interviewed McCollum about the alleged breaches.
He told investigators that he did not pull up to the Shiloh Christian School Open House until after 11am – though prosecutors claim in the affidavit that surveillance footage contradicts this.
The former politician added that he allegedly did not see Ragen during his visit to the school.
McCollum ‘wished to remain silent’ when he was quizzed about driving past Wee Friends School on September 28, according to the filing.
The former politician confirmed that he did walk past Wee Friends the following morning, but said he had been attending an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting at the church connected to the school.
However, according to the church, there were no such meetings held at 7am, prosecutors wrote in the affidavit.
The lawyer who filed the latest claims, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joshua Robinson, has asked the judge to place McCollum in custody to prevent him from stalking Ragen.
McCollum was first arrested on August 1 at his $900,000 family home on charges including aggravated assault and domestic abuse.
He has pleaded not guilty to each count, and filed a civil countersuit against his ex-wife for allegedly taking marijuana in front of their children – a claim she denies. It is illegal to take the drug recreationally in Arkansas.
Court documents obtained by the Daily Mail show that Ragen also secured an Order of Protection against Austin in August after accusing him of violently abusing her in the application, including by dragging her by the hair and striking her with a metal coat-hanger
Austin has denied all of the allegations, and filed a civil counter-claim accusing Ragen of using marijuana while caring for their children, which he described as ‘a constant source of turmoil’ in their marriage. She has formally denied the allegation through her attorneys
Ragen filed for divorce on August 7 and her subsequent allegations made against McCollum do not make for easy reading.
At an August 25 hearing seeking the order of protection she later won, Ragen told a court she was so frightened of her husband that she had to smoke marijuana before they had sex with him to ensure she wouldn’t ‘flinch.’
Ragen also told the court how McCollum had ‘directed’ encounters with other men, including one occasion where he told her to ‘make out’ with a guy at a bar.
She made the allegations when questioned about whether she had been faithful by McCollum’s lawyer Lindsey Nicole Schmeidler at an earlier order of protection hearing, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.
In her divorce complaint obtained by the Mail, Ragen alleged that McCollum had made her life ‘intolerable’ by committing ‘indignities’ that made it ‘impossible’ for them to continue living together.
Ragen told of how McCollum wrote a suicide note using his state representative stationery on February 23, in which he asked her to tell their children that he loved them. He did not follow through with his alleged threat.
Her petition for the order of protection, which was filed on August 6 and obtained by the Mail, detailed a catalog of alleged physical violence and psychological torment.
Ragen claimed McCollum offered to help her kill herself while she was suffering from post-partum depression and that he had dragged her around by her hair.
In her complaint, Ragen claimed that Austin once punched and choked her so violently that there was ‘blood everywhere,’ before detailing a series of other alleged attacks, including one incident where he allegedly ran her over in front of the children. He denies her claims
The McCollum’s marriage has publicly imploded in bitter divorce filings unearthed by the Mail
McCollum, a former state representative running as a Republican candidate for Benton County judge, was also arrested in August on domestic violence claims. He has pleaded not guilty
In her complaint, Ragen claimed that Austin once punched and choked her so violently that there was ‘blood everywhere,’ before detailing a series of other alleged attacks, including one incident where he allegedly ran her over in front of the children.
The alleged abuse unfolded behind closed doors, often after the couple came home from luxury weddings and balmy vacations, according to the court petition.
McCollum resigned from his position as state representative at the behest of Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders on August 1, with a special election now set to take place in November.
He is currently still running unopposed to become a Benton County justice of the peace in November, after winning the March 3 Republican primary.
The Daily Mail has reached out to prosecutors as well as Austin and Regan McCollum for comment.
