Police called to Fort Lauderdale home said Parscale, who had access to firearms, accompanied officers willingly
Guardian staff and agencies
Sun 27 Sep 2020 23.00 EDT
Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Brad Parscale has been hospitalised after he threatened to harm himself, according to Florida police and campaign officials.
Police were called to the home in Desota Drive in the Seven Isles community of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, late on Sunday afternoon. The home is owned by Bradley and Candice Parscale.
“When officers arrived on scene, they made contact with the reportee (wife of armed subject) who advised her husband was armed, had access to multiple firearms inside the residence and was threatening to harm himself,” Fort Lauderdale police said in a statement.
“Officers determined the only occupant inside the home was the adult male. Officers made contact with the male, developed a rapport, and safely negotiated for him to exit the home.”
Police identified the man as Parscale. He did not threaten police and accompanied officers willingly under Florida’s Baker Act, which gives police the power to detain a person who poses a potential threat to themselves or others for 72 hours for psychiatric evaluation.
Parscale was taken to Broward Health Medical Center.
The number and nature of the firearms in the Parscale home was not known.
Fort Lauderdale’s mayor, Dean Trantalis, said he had been informed there was a Swat team standoff at Parscale’s home.
“It was indicated to me that he had weapons,” Trantalis told the Sun-Sentinel.
“I’m glad he didn’t do any harm to himself or others, I commend our Swat team for being able to negotiate a peaceful ending to this.”
Parscale was removed as Trump’s campaign manager in July after a much-hyped campaign rally in Tulsa attracted an embarrassingly sparse crowd.
He was replaced by then-deputy campaign manager Bill Stepien but has stayed on as a senior adviser to the campaign. On his Twitter account Parscale describes himself as “senior advisor, digital and data” for Donald Trump.
The Trump campaign communications director, Tim Murtaugh, issued a statement late on Sunday offering support to Parscale.
“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.”
In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255, or you can text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counsellor. In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. Other international suicide helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.
