Courtroom drama erupts as Denise Richards’ ex Aaron Phypers arrested during restraining-order hearing

In a dramatic twist during a Los Angeles courtroom, Aaron Phypers was removed from a hearing related to a restraining order filed by his ex-wife, Denise Richards, and taken into custody on a freshly issued felony warrant by the State of California.

The warrant stems from an eight-page criminal complaint filed at the Van Nuys Courthouse on 16 October, charging Phypers, 53, with two counts of injuring a spouse/cohabitant and two counts of dissuading a witness by force or threat. The alleged incidents underlying those counts reportedly occurred on 17 January 2022 and 3 May 2022.

The arrest occurred mid-proceedings as the judge granted Richards, 54, a continuance of her temporary restraining order until 7 November. It serves as yet another legal blow in a high-profile and contentious divorce and abuse case that has drawn months of media scrutiny. Phypers was booked at the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station near Malibu shortly after 5 p.m. on 17 October and is being held on $200,000 bail.

Richards previously testified under oath that she sustained at least three concussions during the marriage and alleged that Phypers caused a black eye in an incident at his wellness-centre carport, claimed he squeezed her head so hard it “felt like he was crushing my skull” and threatened to throw her through hotel windows and off balconies.

Phypers has vehemently denied all abuse claims, labelling them false and hurtful. His attorney Michael Finley told PEOPLE that the newly filed criminal charges are based on the same evidence currently contested in the ongoing divorce case, and expressed confidence Phypers will be exonerated.

This arrest injects fresh urgency into what has already been a fraught legal process. The sweeping allegations of abuse, years in the making, now face parallel tracks: civil divorce proceedings and criminal charges. As Richards and Phypers continue to battle over accusations and counter-claims, the public spotlight remains sharply on both the allegations of serious violence and the question of whether justice will be served.