Chris Young, the country singer, was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct, assault on an officer and resisting arrest following an altercation at a Nashville bar Monday night, authorities said.
While Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents were searching IDs at a bar in downtown Nashville, Mr. Young, 38, punched one of the agents, according to an affidavit filed in a Nashville criminal court. Agents handcuffed Mr. Young after he failed to comply with their orders, they said.
Mr. Young got his break when he won the country reality television competition “Nashville Star” in 2006. His second album, “The Man I Want to Be,” released in 2009, went platinum in the United States. Since then, he has been a fixture on the Billboard country charts.
A representative for Mr. Young declined to comment.
Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents arrived at a bar called Tin Roof around 8:30 p.m. to check the IDs of patrons, including Mr. Young, the affidavit said. After the inspection, Mr. Young began asking the agents questions, which they supposedly answered, and he began videotaping them.
The agents left and continued to a bar next door, the DawgHouse Saloon. The affidavit states that Mr. Young and his friends followed them and began talking to people there. As the agents completed their compliance checks, Mr. Young tried to stop one of the agents from leaving and hit him on the shoulder, it said.
The targeted agent, Joseph Phillips, urged Mr. Young to distance himself, then other guests stood up to intervene, the affidavit said. Another agent attempted to speak to Mr. Young, but he did not follow instructions. Then the agents arrested him.
The affidavit described Mr. Young's “slurred speech” and his eyes as “bloodshot and watery.” It also said that the people who were with Mr Young “made the incident hostile”.
Mr. Young was later taken into custody and released on bonds of $250 on the disorderly conduct charge, $1,000 on the resisting arrest charge and $1,250 on the assault charge, according to reports from the Nashville Clerk of Court. He is scheduled to appear in court on February 16.
Aimee Ortiz contributed reporting.