B.J. Penn's mother files for retraining order claiming 'extreme psychological abuse'

The mother of UFC legend B.J. Penn, Lorraine Shin, has filed for a restraining order against her son. Penn was arrested last weekend and charged with abuse of a family or household member.

On Tuesday, copies of the restraining order request and Shin's statement detailing the events that led to Penn's arrest were sent to MMAFighting. 

For months, Penn has been making social media posts alleging that he family has been murdered and replaced by imposters trying to steal his assets. 

In her statement, Shin accused Penn of “extreme psychological abuse towards me for over the past several months that I am not Lorraine Shin, I killed his family and have taken over his mother’s identity, and he wants me to be removed from his home.”

In the filing for a retraining order, Shin claimed that “all my belongings such as clothes, shoes, jewelry, personal items, and my bed removed from my bedroom," after she turned from an out of town trip on May 11. She filed a theft report with local authorities. 

On May 16, Shin alleged that “my personal purse with my driver’s license, credit card and locks for my safe were stolen." She filed a second theft report with the police. 

In response to Penn's actions, Shin has security cameras installed and a deadbolt lock on her bedroom door. She claims that Penn was caught attempting to take down the cameras and “he also put glue into my dead bolts that stopped me from opening my bedroom door.”

Upon returning home from another trip on May 25, Shin alleges that Penn “placed duct tape on my video cameras to block video camera and placed glue into my deadbolt on my bedroom door to stop me from entering my bedroom.” She also alleged that Penn had stolen her mail. 

Leading up to the May 25 arrest, Shin claims Penn got physical with her after shining a bright flashlight in her face as she attempted to call 911. 

“I tried turning in several directions and he continued to blind me with his flashlight,” Shin wrote in the statement. “I then tried to grab the flashlight and remove it from my face and then he grabbed my arms and shoved me against the 4-door gray sedan, which I felt a sharp pain in my back. I then started to scream at the top of my voice for my son Reagan Penn to help me.

“Reagan lives two houses away from me. Reagan ran over to help me. I then dialed 911 for help.”

Shin believes Penn is suffering from a condition called apgras delusional syndrome and wants him to get help. 

“I believe my son [B.J. Penn] is suffering from Capgras delusional syndrome (a psychiatric disorder in which a person holds a delusion that a friend, spouse, parent, other close family member has been replaced by an identical imposter). He believes I’m an imposter who has killed his family to gain control of the family assets.

“In the best interest for my safety, I ask the court for a six month [temporary restraining order] and have my son ordered to get medical treatment or other source of therapy.” A judge hasn’t approved or denied the order yet.

Penn once held the UFC lightweight and welterweight titles. He was inducted in the UFC Hall of Fame in 2015. He last fought in May 2019, losing to Clay Guida by unanimous decision. 

In the years since, Penn has had several brushes with law enforcement. In January 2021, Penn was arrested under suspicion of Driving Under the Influence. In June 2019, video emerged of Penn fighting a bouncer after being thrown out of a bar. Two months later, Penn was involved in another bar fight caught on video. In January 2015, Penn was arrest after an altercation at a Maui hotel.