'Tiger King' Star James Garretson Arrested In Florida, Claims It's Related To Show

"Tiger King" star James Garretson was arrested in Florida this week ... and he claims the bust 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 claim he was driving with a suspended driver's license.

According to the arrest report, obtained by TMZ, officers say they observed James driving in Marathon and recognized him from a previous police encounter. Cops say they checked his license in a database and saw it was suspended.

Police say they saw James driving again later that same evening and pulled him over. Cops say James provided a Florida identification card -- not a driver's license -- and they asked him to step out of his truck before handcuffing him.

Cops say James has a prior conviction for driving with a suspended license and they hauled him off to jail in Key West for booking. Police say James was issued a criminal citation and given a court date next month.

James, who worked with Joe Exotic back in the day before becoming an FBI informant to help secure Joe's conviction, tells TMZ ... when cops pulled him over one of the officers told him, "I know you are. I've been watching you for a while."

JG says the cop didn't elaborate on the alleged comment and they didn't tell him why the pulled him over or why he was arrested ... at least until he got to the jail an hour away in Key West ... and he feels there was some kind of motive behind his arrest.

James tells us he thinks the bust could be related to his affiliation with the 'Tiger King' series and all the drama that's come with him appearing in the Netflix hit.

He posed for a mug shot at the jail, and says he bonded out for $546.