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Country Star Zach Bryan Shares Details of His Arrest Thursday in Oklahoma
Courtesy of zachlanebryan/Instagram
Country music star Zach Bryan was arrested in Oklahoma on Thursday night for obstruction of an investigation, according to the Craig County Sheriff’s Office.
Bryan was released a short time later, and posted about the incident on X, formerly Twitter, saying he 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,” Bryan 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,” he wrote.
“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,” he wrote.
In a followup video message early Friday, Bryan said he wanted to be “completely transparent” about what happened. “I don’t want the internet to do what the internet does,” he said.
Bryan said that a few days before his arrest, he was pulled over in Oklahoma for speeding “four or five” miles over the limit. He said he told the officer he wasn’t “comfortable” providing his address due to being a famous musician, and the officer replied that if he didn’t, he would go to jail.
When Bryan again refused to provide his address, he was told to step out of the vehicle and the officer handcuffed him. After talking for a time, “I ended up giving him my address, I ended up, like, abiding by what he was saying,” Bryan said. The officer finally removed the handcuffs and let him go with a warning.
On Thursday, Bryan said he was on his way to Boston and his security guard was driving behind him. In Vinita, he noticed his security guard was being pulled over, and he also stopped.
“I didn’t get out of the vehicle or anything, I’m just sitting there waiting on him. Ten to 15 minutes goes by, and I get out of the car,” Bryan said. The officer approached Bryan and told him to get back in his vehicle.
“I’m like, ‘I’m not the one getting pulled over’,” Bryan said, but the officer said if he did not get back in his vehicle he would go to jail.
“I get too lippy with him, he brings me over to his car, and I just didn’t help my situation at all,” Bryan said.
“I just pray everyone knows that I don’t think I’m above the law, I was just being disrespectful, I shouldn’t have been, it was my mistake,” Bryan said. Once handcuffed, he says, he became “more and more angry … mouthing off like an idiot, like an actual child.”
During booking, after he had a chance to “cool off,” everyone was “super kind,” Bryan said. “The cop and me eventually shook hands.”
Bryan, an Oklahoma native and U.S. Navy veteran, began his country music career on YouTube with the viral hit “Heading South” in 2019. His first studio album, “American Heartbreak,” came out last year. His self-titled album, released last month, rocketed to the top of the Billboard 200 chart.
TMX contributed to this article.
