Country music star Zach Bryan was arrested by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol on Thursday.
It was not initially made clear what the incident was that led to Bryan’s arrest, which occurred in Vinita, OK, but the singer later explained in detail the timeline of events in an early Friday morning video (see, below). He was booked into Craig County Jail on a charge of obstruction of an investigation, according to the jail’s website.
Following his arrest on Thursday night, Bryan tweeted a statement. “Today I had an incident with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Emotions got the best of me and I was out of line in the things I said,” he wrote.
“I support law enforcement as much as anyone can, I was just frustrated in the moment, it was unlike me and I apologize. They brought me to jail, and there is a mug shot of me floating around,” Bryan continued.
He added, “Prayers we can all move on from this and prayers people know I’m just trying the best I can, I love you guys and I am truly sorry to the officers.”
In a follow-up video posted to his social media, Bryan said he has to deal with “the legalities of it” but that he did go to jail, saying, “They didn’t play favorites. I was an idiot today and my decisions did not reflect who I was as a person, and I just want to make that clear, and I should have been smarter about it.”
The musician detailed the timeline of events that led to his arrest in a nearly five-minute video, calling his behavior “immature” and that he was “being disrespectful and I shouldn’t have been” after two highway encounters with police led him to behave in a manner that got him arrested.
Of the police he said, “They were just doing their jobs; I was upset.”
Bryan, who lives in Tulsa, was nominated for new artist of the year at the upcoming Country Music Awards on Wednesday and also made history this week when his new self-titled album and Kacey Musgraves-featuring single (“I Remember Everything”) topped the Billboard 200 albums and Hot 100 charts, respectively. In May, Bryan received the Academy of Country Music Award for new male artist of the year.
TMZ was first to report the news of Bryan’s arrest.
This story originally published on Sept. 7, at 9:07 pm.
