A former campaign manager for President Donald Trump was hospitalized Sunday evening after allegedly barricading and threatening to kill himself inside his Fort Lauderdale home.
Fort Lauderdale Police say the wife of 44-year-old Brad Parscale called authorities to their home on the 2300 block of Desota Drive, saying her husband was armed and threatening to harm himself.
Police say officers were able to make contact with Parscale who eventually willingly left his home and was placed under a Baker Act.
Police did not confirm Parscale's connection to President Trump, but according to the Sun Sentinel, records show that the home is owned by Bradley and Candice Parscale.
Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh told several news outlets in a statement, “Brad Parscale is a member of our family and we all love him. We are ready to support him and his family in any way possible.”
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis also told the news organization that he knew Trump’s former campaign manager had a home in the city.
Parscale was demoted from the campaign manager's post in July but remained part of the campaign, helping run its digital operation.
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Standing 6’8” and with a distinctive beard, Parscale had become a celebrity to Trump supporters and would frequently pose for photos and sign autographs ahead of campaign rallies. But Trump had begun to sour on him earlier this year as Parscale attracted a wave of media attention that included focus on his seemingly glitzy lifestyle on the Florida coast that kept him far from campaign headquarters in Virginia.
Over the summer, he hyped a million ticket requests for the president’s comeback rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that ended up drawing just 6,000 people. A furious Trump was left staring at a sea of empty seats and, weeks later, promoted Bill Stepien to campaign manager.
Parscale was originally hired to run Trump’s 2016 campaign by Jared Kushner, the president’s powerful son-in-law. While the Republican National Committee owns most of the campaign’s data, voter modeling and outreach tools, Parscale ran most of the microtargeted online advertising that Trump aides believe was key to his victory four years ago.
Under the state's Red Flag Law, officials could ask a judge to bar Parscale from possessing any weapons for up to a year.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or reach out to the Crisis Text Line by texting ‘Home’ to 741741.
