What disorder is B.J. Penn suffering from? Family brings up Capgras Syndrome during court proceedings

Exploring B.J. Penn
Exploring B.J. Penn's neurological disorder. [Image courtesy: Getty Images]

B.J. Penn has found himself in legal hot water again. The UFC icon was arrested for the fifth time this year for violating a restraining order filed against him by his mother, Lorraine Shin, who was granted a one-year protection order in August.

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During court proceedings, the 79-year-old alleged domestic abuse and/or extreme psychological abuse. She also claimed that Penn suffered from 'Capgras Syndrome' that caused him to believe that his family members had been replaced by impostors. Penn has notably voiced his claims via multiple social media posts over the past several months.

For context, 'Capgras Syndrome' is a rare neuropsychiatric condition that causes the person suffering from it to have a delusional belief that a close person, object, or animal has been replaced by an identical impostor. It's generally associated with underlying mental issues such as schizophrenia, dementia, and brain injuries.

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In Shin's initial court request, she accused Penn of displaying a disturbing pattern of behavior, which allegedly involved him removing her personal belongings, such as clothes, shoes, jewelry, and her bed from her bedroom while she was away on a trip. In May, Shen and Penn were also involved in a confrontation that turned physical after she attempted to call the police. She said:

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"[He] grabbed my arms and shoved me against the 4-door gray sedan, which I felt a sharp pain in my back." [H/t: Yahoo! Sports]
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B.J. Penn issues first statement after fifth arrest of the year

B.J. Penn has addressed his latest arrest. The former UFC champion recently took to social media to share a statement and claimed he had nobody around him to help him.

In an Instagram post, Penn made it clear that he didn't hold any grudges against anyone and didn't want his journey to negatively affect anybody. In the caption, he wrote:

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"From being someone who had such a big entourage to just being by myself now is kind of strange, but I can’t help but think that I wouldn’t want people I care about around me to get in trouble or to get hurt, professionally, physically, mentally, emotionally, or in any way we can imagine."
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He continued:

"I don’t hold anything against anyone. Thank you, guys. You are always nice to me when I see you. Big praises. I have nobody around to help me, and I do believe in one thing: if you want somebody to win, you will help them win. Either way, I don’t want anybody to get in trouble for my journey. Aloha to all. #hawaii"

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Edited by Nishant Zende.
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