Affidavit: Arkansas lawmaker punched wife in face, slammed head on ground

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussions of domestic violence. If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.

An Arkansas lawmaker was arrested over the weekend after punching his wife in the face and repeatedly slamming her head against the ground, investigators said in an affidavit filed in state court.

Republican Rep. Austin McCollum of Bentonville is facing calls to resign and to drop his bid for Benton County judge after his arrest.

McCollum, 35, was arrested Saturday on charges of domestic battering, aggravated assault and false imprisonment. He was released Sunday on $10,000 bond.

McCollum did not immediately return a call seeking comment Monday morning. He’s scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 8. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney representing him.

The state’s top Republicans, including Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, called for McCollum to step down over his arrest. Republican House Speaker Brian Evans called on McCollum to resign, saying if not he would convene the House to “take the necessary actions.”

The Benton County Sheriff’s Office was called to McCollum’s house for a report of a physical disturbance early Saturday, according to a probable cause affidavit.

During an argument after he arrived home at around midnight, he threw his shoes at his wife and began throwing items around the bedroom, eventually hitting her with a hanger from the closet, the affidavit said.

McCollum refused to let his wife leave the room after she said she wanted to sleep in another room, threw her onto the bed and drove his knee into the back of her neck, the affidavit said.

After his wife got away, McCollum slammed the bedroom door on her hand, injuring two of her fingers and he then punched her in the face, the report said. McCollum grabbed his wife by the hair and slammed her head against the ground repeatedly, the report said.

The lawmaker was intoxicated when a deputy arrived at the scene, the report said. He refused to give a statement.

McCollum, who has served in the House since 2017, won the Republican nomination for Benton County judge in March. 

Under Arkansas’ constitution, it would take at least a two-thirds vote in the predominantly Republican chamber to expel a member.

The House in 2019 expelled a lawmaker who pleaded no contest to charges he had not paid taxes, the first member kicked out of the chamber since the 1800s.