Austin man arrested following threats to kill officials, including local judge

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A 31-year-old was arrested Sunday after the Criminal Investigation Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety received an online tip regarding Facebook posts threatening to kill officials at the Travis County courthouse, which included threats against the judge presiding over a separate civil case involving the suspect.

According to Travis County court records, Ryan Scott Simpson is charged with the state jail felony offense of terroristic threat against a peace officer or judge and is currently being held in the Travis County Jail on a $15,000 bond.

KXAN will reach out to Simpson's attorney when that information becomes available.

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.

According to the affidavit, Simpson is believed to have posted the following message on June 28:

"If I don't walk on the 2nd at court then I will kill them for committing treason. Got it Dimple Malhotra?" The post continued with Simpson writing "A line has been drawn in the sand. Cross it I dare you," before continuing to write "So if Austin Police Department wants to try anything go ahead you will be killed."

As a result of this post, among multiple others outlined in the affidavit, investigators determined there was probable cause to believe Simpson made threats toward Malhotra with the intent to cause fear in order to get a favorable outcome in his pending court hearing, records state.

According to court records, Simpson was arrested in 2023 and 2024 on charges of third-degree felony stalking associated with a Texas state house representative. Both charges were ultimately dismissed due to Simpson being found "incompetent and unlikely to regain."

Simpson was subsequently arrested a third time on May 12 and charged with misdemeanor harassment involving the same state representative associated with the previous two arrests. Simpson was out of custody on a $3,000 bond when he allegedly committed the current offense of terroristic threat against a peace officer or judge, court records show.