Country music star Zach Bryan arrested in Oklahoma: 'I was out of line'

Folk-country artist Zach Bryan was arrested Thursday night in his native Oklahoma and booked on a charge of obstructing an investigation, according to the sheriff's office's available online records.

Bryan was taken to the Craig County Sheriff's Office in Vinita, Oklahoma, upon being detained and was released on bond shortly after.

Oklahoma state law defines obstruction of investigation as "willfully delaying or obstructing any public officer in the discharge or attempt to discharge any duty of his office."

The "I Remember Everything" artist said on X, formerly known as Twitter, he had "an incident with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol" and that his emotions got the best of him.

In a nearly 5-minute long follow-up video posted Friday morning, Bryan shared his account of what lead to the arrest, saying he got in a verbal altercation with an officer after the artist's security guard was pulled over while driving.

The story starts a few days ago, Bryan said, when he was driving through a small town in Oklahoma and was pulled over for speeding. The police officer asked Bryan for his license, registration and address. Bryan said he didn't feel comfortable giving his address, which led the officer to putting Bryan in cuffs before he eventually gave it to him.

Then on Thursday, Bryan and his security guard were driving through Vinita when his security guard was pulled over. Bryan pulled over as well to wait, and eventually got out of his car to "smoke a cigarette." The officer asked him to get back in the car, to which Bryan argued and when the officer said he would take him to jail Bryan said he "got lippy with him."

"I just didn't help my situation at all," Bryan said. "I felt like a child. It was ridiculous. It was immature and I just pray everyone knows that I don't think I'm above the law. I was just being disrespectful."

Eventually, Bryan was taken to the Craig County jail, where he was for "a few hours." He said once he got there he "cooled down" and he was able to apologize to the officer and the two shook hands.

"The people of Vinita were super kind," Bryan said. "I just want to tell the story and get it out there before someone blew out of proportion. I was just an idiot, and I'll take the fall for it."

USA TODAY has reached out to the Craig County Sheriff's Office.

"I support law enforcement as much as anyone can, I was just frustrated in the moment, it was unlike me and I apologize," Bryan wrote in an apology note posted to social media.

'I PUT EVERYTHING I COULD IN IT': Zach Bryan releases entirely self-produced album

Bryan − an Academy of Country Music award-winning and Country Music Association award-nominated breakout star of 2023 − released a 16-track, self-titled album in August to widespread acclaim.

The project includes four features − The War And Treaty on “Hey Driver,” Sierra Ferrell guests on “Holy Roller,” Kacey Musgraves on “I Remember Everything” and The Lumineers on “Spotless.”

Bryan's now 15-month-old debut major-label album — the 34-track, quadruple-platinum-equivalent selling "American Heartbreak" — now contains, after almost 18 months, the longest Billboard Hot 100 charting country single of all-time for a male artist, "Something in the Orange."

Contributing: Cheyenne Derksen, The Oklahoman; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Zach Bryan arrested in Oklahoma, apologizes on social media