Brad Parscale, the former campaign manager for President Donald Trump's 2020 reelection campaign who now runs the team's digital operation, was reportedly removed from his Fort Lauderdale home by police Sunday afternoon and hospitalized after his wife alerted authorities that he was armed with a gun and threatening to harm himself.
According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the encounter between law enforcement and Parscale was brief and nonviolent.
In a statement, the Fort Lauderdale Police Department said that once Parscale's wife notified them about her husband's access to multiple firearms inside the house and threats of self-harm, "officers made contact with the male, developed a rapport, and safely negotiated for him to exit the home."
Parscale was taken without incident from his residence in the affluent Seven Isles neighborhood to Broward Health Medical Center for a psychiatric evaluation. Under Florida's Baker Act, police can detain someone who may be a threat to themselves or others.
While he has remained a fixture in Trump's reelection effort, Parscale was demoted in July from campaign manager to an adviser on matters of digital fundraising and advertising.
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Although Trump's declining approval rating and polling performance earlier this year were inseparable from his disastrous handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Parscale became a target of the president's criticism after a June rally in Tulsa attracted just over 6,000 people despite Parscale's claims that the crowd would exceed the arena's capacity.
In July, the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center accused the Trump campaign of "laundering" an estimated $170 million through a number of different vendors and companies, including some with connection to Parscale. As Forbes reported at the time:
Parscale's firms have long been the object of media scrutiny for receiving large sums from the Trump campaign and for Parscale maintaining a lavish lifestyle well beyond the means of most presidential campaign managers.
After the embarrassing turnout in Tulsa, Trump replaced Parscale with Bill Stepien a few weeks later.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-TALK (8255) and the Crisis Text Line is 741741. Both offer 24/7, free, and confidential support.
