On Sept. 27, former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale was detained and later hospitalized in Fort Lauderdale, FL, after making several threats of suicide as reported by The Washington Post.
The hospitilization followed a distress call from Parscale’s wife Candice, who claimed Parscale had loaded a handgun in front of her and was threatening suicide. She told police she feared for her life and immediately took refuge outside her home until authorities arrived.
Parscale was demoted from Trump’s campaign manager, a position he had held since 2018, in July. It was announced that he would be succeeded in his position by Bill Stepien, and Parscale took on the role of a senior advisor with digital efforts.
His demotion was claimed to have been the result of Trump’s frustration with mediocre attendance to his rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 20, which Parscale and Trump claimed had been RSVP’d by over 1 million people. Trump tweeted on June 15, “”Almost One Million people request tickets for the Saturday Night Rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma!” In reality, there were a little over 6000 people in attendance.
Prior to his demotion, Parscale was a key member of the Trump campaign, responsible for the 5.9 million Facebook ads that paved the way for Trump’s win in the 2016 election, according to NowThisNews. He began working with the Trump family in 2011, using his company Parscale Strategies to promote the Trumps’ personal business endeavors. His company was also responsible for creating what would turn into Trump’s campaign website while he was employed as the Digital Media Director for the 2016 Presidential campaign.
According to Parscale’s wife, he had been drinking heavily and threatening suicide since his demotion, as well as physically abusing her. The Fort Lauderdale Police Department noted in their report that Parscale’s wife’s arms were covered in large bruises and she had scratches on her face.
In a body camera video released by the Fort Lauderdale police, Parscale’s wife can be seen describing the situation to police officers while outside the family’s house. She said that there were “four or five” guns in the house. The video also shows one of the officers speaking with Parscale on the phone asking him to come outside, which he refuses to do initially.
Later in the footage, Parscale comes out of his house calmly, holding a beer while shirtless. Police noted in their report he was intoxicated during this interaction. The police officer with the body cam spoke to Parscale calmly, while another officer in the background demanded he get on the ground multiple times and then tackled him to the ground within seconds. Parscale repeatedly stated, “I didn’t do anything!” while he was being handcuffed.
Since the incident, Parscale has stepped away from his position in the Trump campaign entirely due to “overwhelming stress” caused by his detainment. His wife has also rescinded her accusation of abuse against her husband despite the multiple reports she gave police officers stating the contrary. Parscale is currently staying at the Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale.
