Jose Santiago, the former state representative who is accused of violating a restraining order taken out against him by a former girlfriend, was arrested Saturday in Lawrence, said Police Chief John J. Romero. He was arrested on a warrant outside a club on Essex Street at 12:30 a.m., Romero said.

Santiago ran unsuccessfully in November for a seat in the House of Representatives. He previously had served in the House before he was defeated in 2002 by his former campaign manager, William Lantigua, now the mayor of Lawrence.