On May 26, 2005, Ford was arrested by the FBI, along with two other Tennessee state senators, a Tennessee state representative, a former state senator, a Chattanooga school board member, and an African-American political activist, for alleged participation in a bribery scheme utilizing a "sting" operation involving a bogus electronics recycling company lobbying for favorable treatment under state law. Known as "Operation Tennessee Waltz", the sting operation resulted in multiple charges being brought against Ford and other politicians. His arrest came the day after his nephew Harold Ford, Jr., announced his candidacy for the United States Senate.