Idaho senator pleads guilty after men's room arrest

By JoAnne Allen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Republican U.S. senator confirmed on Monday that he had pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct earlier this month after he was arrested in June in a men's' toilet at a Minnesota airport.

Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho was arrested by a plainclothes police officer investigating complaints of lewd conduct in the men's public restroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, according to a police report cited by the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call.

In a carefully worded statement, Craig gave no details of the incident that prompted his arrest on June 11 but confirmed that he had pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.

"At the time of this incident, I complained to the police that they were misconstruing my actions. I was not involved in any inappropriate conduct," Craig said in a statement.

"I should have had the advice of counsel in resolving this matter. In hindsight, I should not have pled guilty. I was trying to handle this matter myself quickly and expeditiously."

Craig, a married father of three, paid more than $500 in fines and fees related to the misdemeanor charge and was given one year of probation, Roll Call reported.

According to the police report, Craig entered a bathroom stall next to the police investigator, placed his bag against the front of the door and tapped his foot in a gesture commonly used to try to pick up men in public toilets.

"I recognized this as a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct," Roll Call wrote, quoting the investigator in the police incident report.