"Swamp People" star Trapper Joe tried to burn his girlfriend with a lit cigarette ... and then punched her in the chest with a closed fist ... this according to the arrest report obtained by TMZ.

Trapper Joe -- real name Noces Joseph LaFont Jr. -- was arrested for assault and battery in Orange County, Florida early Wednesday morning.

According to the arrest report, a witness told police Trapper Joe and his GF were arguing at the Buena Vista Hotel and Spa just after midnight ... and both appeared very drunk.

The witness claims he watched Joe punch the woman in the chest ... and then grab her by the arms and shake her very hard.

The GF told police Joe had received a call on his cell phone ... and she wanted to know who was calling ... but when she reached for his phone, he tried to burn her with a lit cigarette.

According to the report, Trapper Joe denied the allegations ... but cops arrested him anyway and hauled him to a nearby station where he was booked into custody.

A rep for Trapper Joe has no comment.

"Swamp People" star Trapper Joe has been arrested for domestic violence in Florida, TMZ has learned.

Joe -- full name Joe LaFont -- was arrested early this morning in Orange County for domestic battery.

Sources close to LaFont tell TMZ, LaFont and his girlfriend had gotten into some kind of argument. The precise details surrounding the arrest are still unclear.

You'll recall ... Joe and his stepson Tommy Chauvin were nearly killed in a nasty 5-car pile-up near the Arkansas-Louisiana state line back in April. The pics were crazy.

Joe is currently being held on $1,500 bond.

For the millionth time, "Swamp People" star Joe LaFont's life was spared by a boat -- except this time ... it wasn't in gator-infested marshlands ... it was on an Arkansas highway.

As we previously reported, LaFont and his gator-hunting stepson Tommy Chauvin were nearly killed on Monday in a nasty 5-car pile-up near the Arkansas-Louisiana state border -- when a tractor-trailer (below) rammed the truck behind him.

According to LaFont, the truck behind him was towing a boat -- and that's the reason he's still alive.

LaFont tells us, when the tractor-trailer hit the boat, it turned the truck sideways -- and the truck T-boned Joe rather than barreling straight through him.

Joe tells us, "If it wasn't for the boat, I would have been killed ... It was like a bomb went off."

According to Joe, his F-150 and its attached cargo trailer were totaled in the wreck.

Joe didn't suffer any serious injuries -- but he says his neck and shoulders have been bothering him since the crash ... so he's visiting a doctor later today.

Joe says he does not plan to sue.