Former Rep. Austin McCollum Jailed Again on Stalking, Protection Order Violation Charges

BENTONVILLE — Former state Rep. Austin McCollum, the Republican nominee for Benton County judge, was booked into the Benton County Jail on Tuesday afternoon on suspicion of first-degree stalking and violating a protection order, two months after his arrest on charges he beat his wife.

McCollum, 35, of Bentonville was booked at 4:35 p.m. Tuesday by the Benton County Sheriff’s Office. He remained in custody Wednesday morning with no bond set on either charge, according to the jail roster.

The stalking charge is filed under the section of Arkansas law that applies when the alleged conduct violates an order of protection or a no-contact order covering the same victim.

An affidavit describing what led to the new arrest had not been filed in Benton County Circuit Court as of Wednesday morning, and the sheriff’s office has not released details of the allegations.

McCollum was free on a $10,000 bond in the earlier case. He was arrested Aug. 1 after deputies were called to his Bentonville home shortly after midnight for a physical disturbance. According to a probable cause affidavit, he blocked his wife from leaving a bedroom, pinned her face down on a bed with his knee on her neck, slammed a door on her hand, punched her in the face and repeatedly slammed her head against the floor.

Prosecutors formally charged him Aug. 31 with second-degree domestic battering and first-degree false imprisonment, both Class C felonies, and aggravated assault on a family or household member, a Class D felony. The battering count was upgraded from the misdemeanor third-degree charge he was arrested on.

McCollum pleaded not guilty Sept. 8 before Circuit Judge Brad Karren, who noted that the no-contact order issued at his first appearance remains in effect. An omnibus hearing is set for Dec. 1. A Class C felony carries three to 10 years in prison; a Class D felony carries up to six years.

Separately, his wife petitioned for an order of protection Aug. 6, court records show. Circuit Judge Xollie Duncan granted a final order Aug. 25 that bars McCollum from contacting her for two years, through Aug. 25, 2028.

McCollum’s attorney in that case filed a notice of appeal of the protection order Sept. 22, one week before Tuesday’s arrest. A divorce case was filed Aug. 7 and remains open. Both domestic cases are sealed.

Violating a protection order is a Class A misdemeanor for a first offense, punishable by up to a year in jail. First-degree stalking is a Class B felony, punishable by five to 20 years in prison.

McCollum, a Bentonville Republican, served in the Arkansas House from 2017 and was House majority leader from 2021 to 2023. He resigned his seat Aug. 5, four days after his first arrest. He won the March Republican primary for Benton County judge and has no opponent on the November ballot.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Attorney General Tim Griffin have called on him to withdraw from the race. Benton County Judge Barry Moehring, the current officeholder, has said McCollum should not take the oath of office in January.

This story will be updated when the affidavit in the new case is filed.