Senator Larry Craig

United States Senator Larry Craig has denied inappropriate conduct following his arrest by a police officer investigating complaints of lewd behavior in an airport restroom.

Craig, a Republican from the western U.S. state of Idaho, was arrested on June 11 at the airport in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, according to the Roll Call newspaper.

The paper reported the officer arrested Craig after the policeman observed him making hand signals consistent with someone wishing to engage in lewd conduct.

Craig entered a guilty plea on August 8 to misdemeanor disorderly conduct. Roll Call reported he paid more than $500 in fines and fees and received one year of probation.

After the report became public, Craig issued a statement in which he said police misconstrued his actions. Craig said he regretted he handled the matter without the advice of an attorney, and said he should not have pled guilty.

Craig is in his third term in the U.S. senate. He is up for re-election in 2008.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.