‘Tiger King’ star James Garretson arrested in Florida, claims it’s related to the show

“Tiger King” star James Garretson was arrested this week in Florida… and he claims the arrest may have something to do with his involvement in the Netflix series and Joe Exotic case.

James was arrested Monday night in Marathon… and police in the Florida Keys allege he was driving with a suspended license.

According to the arrest report, obtained by TMZ, officers say they saw James driving in Marathon and recognized him from a previous police encounter. Police say they checked his driver’s license in a database and saw it had been suspended.

Police say they saw James driving again later that same evening and pulled him over. Police say James provided a Florida ID — not a driver’s license — and they asked him to get out of his truck before handcuffing him.

Police say James has a previous conviction for driving with a suspended license and they took him to the Key West jail for booking. Police say James has been served a criminal summons and is scheduled to appear in court next month.

James, who used to work with Joe Exotic before becoming an FBI informant to help secure Joe’s conviction, tells TMZ … when police pulled him over, one of the officers told him, “I know you are. I’ve been watching you for a while.”

JG says the officer didn’t address the alleged comment and they didn’t tell him why they pulled him over or why he was arrested… at least until he got to the jail an hour away in Key West… and he believes there was a motive behind his arrest.

James tells us he thinks the arrest could be related to his connection to the ‘Tiger King’ series and all the drama that comes with his appearance on the Netflix hit.