craignra.jpgMonday evening, Roll Call reported that Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, was arrested on June 11 for lewd conduct in a bathroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Lindbergh Terminal. He pleaded guilty to the charge, a gross misdemeanor, and was sentenced in Hennepin County District Court on August 8 to one year of probation, and over $500 in fines.

Craig is up for reelection in 2008, and has been in Congress since 1981. Rumors had been circulating earlier this month that he might retire in 2008.

According to the report by arresting officer Dave Karsniat, Craig was arrested after a series of suspicious actions in the airport restroom. Craig lurked outside a restroom stall occupied by Karsnia who was working undercover. Craig entered the stall, sat down, and placed his bag at the front of the stall. Karsnia found that to be suspicious. “My experience has shown that individuals engaging in lewd conduct use their bags to block the view from the front of their stall,” he wrote in his report. Craig moved his foot toward Karsnia’s and tapped his foot. Craig swiped his hand under the bottom of the stall three times. Karsnia then flashed his badge under the stall and arrested Craig.

more insideKarsnia was in the restroom as part of a sting operation to clamp down on lewd behavior. The restroom where Craig was arrested is well known among men who seek sex in public places.

Squirt.org is a site that runs a bulletin board for such men. “If you enter from the terminal, turn left and go past wash basins, urinals to the back where the stalls are. This place is THE most cruisy public place I have been,” wrote one poster. “Just passed thru here the other day. This place is so hot. This place has a constant flow and variety of hot guys,” wrote another. Even another poster wrote, “This is the best spot for anonymous action I’ve ever seen.” Of all the postings in Minnesota, the airport restroom was ranked the top by that website.


The site, Squirt.org, lists how to get there: “Across from Food Court. Go through security to main Mezzanine where main shopping is located. Look for Starbucks Coffee stand and Men’s Room is across from there,” what to expect: “Very cruisy, no security cameras or guards. Most of the time, men will show themselves to you at the urinals and invite into stalls or nearby hotels. Plenty of dark stall action, too!Update: No one is permitted beyond the security checkpoints without an airline ticket now,” and some of the biggest pet peeves: “Stall hoggers! Get off and get out! Cleaning crews may be overly curious, but won’t interfere.”

The details of Craig’s arrest are not unique. According to a post in June at cruisingforsex.com, another public sex site, “Twenty people were arrested within the past week. Plainclothes officers wait in the stalls and tap their feet and even put their foot on yours and then arrest you when you look under the stall wall.”

Craig had been the target of Mike Rogers of BlogActive who accused Craig of having sex with other men, particularly in public restrooms. “I have done extensive research into this case, including trips to the Pacific Northwest to meet with men who have say they have physical relations with the Senator,” wrote Rogers in October 2006. “I have also met with a man here in Washington, D.C., who says the same — and that these incidents occurred in the bathrooms of Union Station.”

And now an officer’s report of a similar incident in Minneapolis.

Craig contends that his actions were misconstrued by the police. “At the time of this incident, I complained to the police that they were misconstruing my actions,” Craig said in a released 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.”

Why did it take the media two and a half months to report on the arrest of a United States senator? According to John McArdle, the Roll Call reporter who ran the story Monday, it must have just slipped through the cracks. McArdle says Roll Call got an anonymous tip on the story. Still, it’s rare that a story this salacious would sit for two months on a courthouse shelf.

Many blogs have commented on Craig’s arrest in light of his views on homosexuality. He supports the Federal Marriage Amendment, voted for it in 2006, and says that it is “important for us to stand up now and protect traditional marriage, which is under attack by a few unelected judges and litigious activists.” He voted against adding sexual orientation to hate crimes statutes in 2002, and 2000. In 1996 he voted against prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation, and voted for the Defense of Marriage Act. He also endorsed Idaho’s constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and civil unions. That measure passed in November 2006.

LGBT equality advocates have also pointed out the perceived hypocrisy of Craig’s arrest. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force said in a statement Monday, “There is sad irony that a United States senator from Idaho has been caught up in the same kind of thing that destroyed the lives of dozens of men in Boise in the 1950s, so tragically chronicled in `Boys of Boise.’”

NGLTF added, “And by the way, why are Minneapolis tax dollars being used to have plainclothes police officers lurking idly in airport restroom stalls?”

Photo of Sen. Larry Craig via the National Rifle Association.

Related: Idaho Senator Arrested in Minneapolis: Where Was the Media?