Austin Man Received Two Lifetime Bans From Texas State Capitol After Stalking Officials
Ryan Simpson was then arrested this week for terroristic threats.
Ryan Simpson, an Austin resident, was arrested this week for allegedly making terroristic threats against a peace officer, following over two years of online posts and behavior that many described as mentally unstable and potentially dangerous.
Simpson was previously arrested twice for felony stalking, as detailed in a timeline by Austin Justice on X, which documented his online posts and behavior.
The first incident began in January 2023 and involved Rep. Ellen Troxclair. Simpson was arrested for felony stalking, but the charges were dismissed in February 2024 after the court deemed him "incompetent to stand trial" and prosecutors determined he was "unlikely to regain competency."
The second incident began in July 2023 and involved former Austin City Councilmember Mackenzie Kelly. Simpson was arrested again for felony stalking, but all charges were dismissed in November 2024, as he was once again deemed "unlikely to regain competency."
On April 27th, Simpson would post on Facebook confirming he was bipolar and that he took anti-psychotic medications. Simpson stated he tried to get into Austin City Hall with a knife. In the same post, Simpson also mentions he once entered the Capitol with “a foot long nail.” Simpson’s post says his family makes sure he doesn’t have access to a gun because they are concerned he would hurt himself.
Due to his behavior, Simpson would receive two lifetime bans from the Texas State Capitol, one from Rep. Ellen Troxclair and another from former councilmember Mackenzie Kelly.
Simpson would then allegedly violate the protective order filed against him by Kelly by uploading her address, and child’s full name, address, and school location to his Facebook page completely unredacted.
Kelly would respond by filing a motion for contempt against Simpson. In the motion, Kelly documents her efforts to inform Austin Police about Simpsons violations. Ten days after she reported these violations, Austin PD would dismiss her concerns.
In response to Kelly’s filing of a motion for contempt, Simpson’s online posting became more extreme as he referenced killing police officers.
In another Facebook post Simpson spoke about killing police officers, and lynching Mackenzie Kelly.
Austin Police would finally arrest and charge Ryan Simpson for felony offense of terroristic threat against a peace officer.
Court records show the DPS investigator found several instances of violent threats where Simpson tagged Travis County Court #4 Judge Dimple Malhotra, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, and many other government and law enforcement officials on Facebook.
Simpson was scheduled to appear in Malhotra’s court on July 2, 2025, for violating one of several protective orders that have all been authorized by Malhotra, documents said.
Years of documented harassment, and admitted mental disorder, and public posts that allegedly violated protective orders were all ignored by the Austin Police and courts until Simpson finally crossed a line by threatening government officials.
Many people are asking what potential situations or issues could have arisen from Ryan Simpson's increasingly erratic, strange, and threatening behavior, and whether, if left unchecked, he could have become a serious danger to the women who had protective orders against him.
Wild story. Sounds like we need insane asylums again to house some folks who don’t need prison but need help and to be moderately restricted
He seems much more than bipolar. He sounds more schizophrenic with delusions. I hope there is something that can be done to keep him away from the public sphere. I suspect that his case will end with “it’s not illegal to be crazy.”