Zach Bryan, the acclaimed country music artist who recently achieved his first No. 1 album titled “Zach Bryan,” faced an arrest for obstruction of an investigation in his home state of Oklahoma shortly after this career milestone.
The 27-year-old star was taken into custody on a Thursday evening, as reported by multiple sources. Local outlet News on 6 disclosed that he has since been released on bail.
The Craig County Sheriff’s Office has refrained from providing an official statement regarding the incident.
Bryan, however, took to his social media platforms to acknowledge the situation and extend his apologies.
“Today I had an encounter with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Emotions got the better of me, and my words were out of line,” began the “Heavy Eyes” singer.
Continuing, he stated, “I hold law enforcement in high regard, and my behavior in that moment was uncharacteristic. I apologize sincerely for my actions. I was brought to jail, and my mug shot is now in circulation. I pray that we can move forward from this, and I hope people understand that I’m just doing my best. I love you all, and I’m truly sorry to the officers.”
According to online jail records from Craig County, Bryan’s arrest occurred around 6:40 p.m. local time, as reported by ABC News.
Prior to the arrest, Bryan shared an Instagram Story featuring him driving down a road beside a grassy field, though the location was unspecified. A black dog was nestled in the passenger seat.
Captioning the post, the Grammy-nominated singer wrote, “On the road again, gonna go see the birds win.”
Earlier in the year, Bryan used his platform to condemn transphobic attitudes. His stance briefly caused a public disagreement with fellow country artist Travis Tritt. Tritt had declared his intention to remove all Anheuser-Busch products from his tour rider in response to the beer brand’s inclusive campaign with Dylan Mulvaney.
Bryan addressed the issue on X (formerly known as Twitter) in early April, stating, “I mean no disrespect towards anyone, specifically, I don’t even mind @Travistritt. I just think insulting transgender people is completely wrong because we live in a country where we can all just be who we want to be. It’s a great day to be alive, I thought.”
About a week later, Bryan and Tritt managed to resolve their differences. Bryan tweeted, “@Travistritt and I talked for an hour and a half last night, face to face. It was nice to meet an old legend. We disagree on some things and agree on some things, and it seems the world did not end. My dad almost cried at his set. Can everyone stop being so weird,” he humorously concluded.