Actress Jennifer Lawrence arrives at the 85th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday Feb. 24, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Photo by John Shearer/Invision/AP)A Canadian man is facing charges that he stalked the brother of Jennifer Lawrence after authorities say he repeatedly insisted that the man put him in touch with the Oscar-winning actress so he could protect her, according to court documents.
Zhao Han Cong, 23, of Vancouver, British Columbia, was ordered Friday to remain held until he could undergo a psychiatric examination to determine if the case against him can proceed.
FBI agents in Louisville charged Cong on Monday with interstate stalking and repeated harassing phone communications. Lawrence is a native of Louisville.
Cong's attorney, public defender Donald J. Meier, requested the psychiatric exam. Meier didn't cite any specific behavior in making the request, though prosecutors did not object. Cong has not yet entered a plea.
FBI Special Agent Richard Boswell III wrote in an affidavit that Cong started contacting "B.L.," who is identified in a related state court record as the actress' brother Blaine Lawrence, on April 4. Lawrence received numerous phone calls and text messages from "Ted" on his work cell phone at 2 a.m., Boswell wrote. Boswell said "Ted" was later identified as Cong.
The phone calls and text messages came from numbers with area codes in California and Colorado but were later traced to Cong.
Cong initially asked Lawrence to put him in contact with the actress so he could "protect" her and made references to the Boston Marathon bombings, Boswell said. Cong then blamed Blaine Lawrence for putting his sister in danger because she was in Boston before the attack, Boswell said.
Cong made comments about "bad things" happening to Lawrence and his family and eventually gave up his real name and phone number in Canada, Boswell wrote.
Two weeks later, Cong sent three email messages to Blaine Lawrence, making references to the Bible and their relation to Jennifer Lawrence. Cong told his life story and said he was Jennifer Lawrence's "husband for life," Boswell wrote.
Cong told Blaine Lawrence he "wouldn't kill anyone for sure," but would scare people with real things happening in their lives and would get angry "and all hell's going to break loose," Boswell wrote.
Cong flew from Vancouver to Louisville on April 18 and kept contacting Blaine Lawrence, Boswell wrote.
"Either I find out, or you come and see me, okay?" Boswell quoted Cong as saying. "You got me really upset. When I'm, when I'm upset, let's see what happens, alright?"
Cong took a cab to the Indian Hills Police Department in suburban Louisville on April 19 and asked about the home address of Lawrence's mother. Police interviewed Cong for three hours. During the interview, Cong described himself as the second coming of Jesus and said Lawrence's mother had what he needed to complete his journey, Boswell wrote.
Officers took Cong into custody and involuntarily hospitalized him for a psychiatric evaluation. He was taken to Central State Hospital, where he called Blaine Lawrence, Boswell wrote.
Upon his release, police arrested Cong. Federal authorities took custody of Cong on May 7 and filed a criminal complaint against him Monday.