A federal judge ordered a psychiatric evaluation for the Collin County man accused of threatening President Donald Trump, after the man’s attorney raised concerns about his mental competency.
Court records filed Wednesday show defense attorney Michael Pannitto requested a psychological or psychiatric examination for Ronnie "Chip" Austin Jr., 56, of Allen.
Austin was arrested June 4 and charged with threatening the president of the United States and transmitting threats in interstate commerce. Austin made his initial appearance June 5.
Federal authorities have not publicly released details about the alleged threats, and the criminal complaint remains under seal.
The FBI is investigating the case, which is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Texas.
In the motion, Pannitto wrote Austin has been admitted to mental health units on several occasions and suffers from schizoaffective disorder and psychotic combative disorder.
The attorney said those conditions may prevent Austin from understanding the proceedings against him or assisting in his own defense
The filing states Austin "may be presently suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent" and asks the court to determine whether he can understand the nature and consequences of the case against him.
Federal prosecutors did not oppose the request.
KERA News reached out to Pannitto and will update this story with any response.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Aileen Durrett granted the motion and ordered Austin committed to a federal medical center for up to 30 days for evaluation. The examination will determine whether Austin is mentally competent to proceed with the criminal case.
The court ordered evaluators to submit a report detailing Austin's history and symptoms, testing, findings, diagnosis and an opinion on whether he is capable of understanding the proceedings and assisting his attorney.
A finding of incompetency would temporarily halt criminal proceedings while Austin receives treatment and is evaluated for restoration to competency.
Emmanuel Rivas Valenzuela is KERA's breaking news reporter. Got a tip? Email Emmanuel at erivas@kera.org. KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members.
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