15 Years Later US Senator’s MSP Airport Bathroom Scandal Lives On
Thanks to the internet, the public restroom that US Senator Larry Craig was arrested in for lewd conduct lives on in infamy.
Some Minnesotans likely remember the story of US Senator Larry Craig and his arrest June 11, 2007 at MSP International Airport. For those who don't, here's a quick refresher: U.S. Senator Larry Craig of Idaho was flying through Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport in the summer of 2007. As told by Toilet Guru, Craig entered a public restroom near the airport's central concourse. Unbeknownst to him, the bathroom was under watch by plainclothes police following complaints of inappropriate sexual activity in the area. Entering a stall, he proceeded to make hand gestures to an undercover police officer in the stall next to him which the officer recognized as "known" signals soliciting sex. Craig was arrested, charged and later accused by multiple other men of seeking or initiating sexual encounters with them.
The story of Craig and the location of the infamous bathroom were recently brought to light again by a local tour guide named John. John -- who spent 12 years abroad as a professional tour guide -- now shares neat facts and little-known stories about Minnesota on TikTok under the username Depot Adventures MN.
While the bathroom has since been remodeled -- the stall walls reportedly go all the way to the floor now -- its legacy lives on in infamy online. The Senator Larry Craig Memorial Restroom is listed as a "Historic Site and Public Bathroom" on the data-collecting website Foursquare where it has a 5.1 out of 10-star rating. Reviews from Foursquare users have been...well...predictable.
"Two taps for service," joked one user as recently as 2019.
"Be sure to bring a meal in case there's a wait for your suitor," joked another who -- according to Foursquare -- has checked into the bathroom a minimum of at least 10 times.
"Is THIS what you people meant by 'Minnesota Nice?!'" wondered a third humorously. See the Foursquare location and full list of reviews here.
Senator Larry Craig Memorial Restroom also exists as an available location on Instagram where users continue to check-in.
"It’s been a hot minute since I got to check in with the senator," joked one passenger flying from MSP to Fort Myers, FL.
"Everyone is super friendly in the restrooms here," reads the caption of someone's photo of a shoe in the adjoining stall (a reference to the Larry Craig scandal).
"Hello again from favorite airport, where checking into the memorial restroom is a time-honored tradition that shall never die," one woman captioned a selfie of herself at MSP Airport.