Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho was arrested by a plainclothes police officer investigating complaints of lewd conduct in a men's restroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, according to a report just issued by Roll Call.
The report said the incident happened just after noon on June 11.
A spokesman for Craig, a Republican, called the incident a "he said/he said misunderstanding." Later, Craig denied he had engaged in any "inappropriate conduct" and said police had misunderstood his actions. A full story by The Times' Richard Simon appears here on this website and in Tuesday's print editions.
But according to Roll Call, Craig, who is married with three grown children, pleaded guilty on Aug. 8 to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge in Hennepin County District Court and paid more than $500 in fees and fines. A 10-day jail sentence was stayed and a one-year probation imposed.
According to the police report obtained by Roll Call, Sgt. Dave Karsnia of the airport police was investigating a men's room where frequent arrests have been made for sexual activity. Soon after the plainclothes officer took a seat in a stall, he noticed "an older white male with gray hair standing outside my stall." He peered through a crack in the door for two minutes before entering the adjacent stall.
The officer reported that Craig tapped his right foot, "a common signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct." Craig allegedly moved his right foot so that it touched the officer's left foot. When the officer flashed his badge beneath the stall wall, Craig reportedly exclaimed, "No!" The officer informed him he was under arrest and took him for 45 minutes of interrogation and photographing.
At one point during that session, Craig allegedly passed over a business card identifying him as a U.S. senator and said, "What do you think about that?"
During a tape-recorded interview the officer reported Craig "either disagreed with me or 'didn't recall' the events as they happened." At one point Craig reported he reached down to pick up a piece of paper, but the officer said there was none on the floor.
In October 2006, Craig's office publicly denied allegations that he was a homosexual made by a gay activist website, calling it "completely ridiculous" with "no basis in fact."
A spokesman for the Mitt Romney campaign announced today that Craig had stepped down from his role in that effort.
The Roll Call article by John McArdle is available online only to subscribers.
--Andrew Malcolm
Larry Craig, the senior United States Senator for Idaho, was arrested at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in Minnesota after pleading guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct. He has been forced to pay US$575 in fees and serve 10 days in jail, and has been put on unsupervised probation for a period of one year.

Craig was arrested on June 11th after an undercover police officer reported lewd conduct in one of the men's restrooms. At the time, he stated, "I complained to the police that they were misconstruing my actions. I was not involved in any inappropriate conduct".

After his arrest, he stated, "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 is a member of the Republican Party. He has served in the United States Senate continuously since 1991, and was a United States Representative from 1981 to 1991. Earlier, he was elected to the Idaho State Senate in 1974, 1976 and 1978. Craig is married, and adopted the three children his wife had had from a previous marriage. 

Craig had previously faced allegations of homosexual behavior, and in 1982 went on network news to deny rumors involving cocaine and sex with male congressional pages. He is considered a social conservative in his voting record, and supported a Federal Marriage Amendment to bar same-sex marriage.