Trump’s ex-campaign manager Brad Parscale hospitalized after threatening to harm himself

Brad Parscale, the former head of President Donald Trump‘s reelection campaign, has been hospitalized after a home incident in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in which he reportedly threatened to harm himself.

Parscale, who served as Trump’s campaign manager until he was demoted in July, had a brief encounter on Sunday afternoon with police who were called to his home by his wife Candice Parscale, said Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Karen Dietrich, according to the Sun Sentinel.

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His wife told authorities that he had guns in the home and that she feared he would harm himself. Police Chief Dietrich said Parscale did not threaten the responding officers and that the encounter was “short.” He reportedly went willingly to a hospital with authorities under Florida’s Baker Act, which allows police to detain someone who’s potentially a threat to themselves or others.

The incident drew the attention of Fort Lauderdale’s Democrat Mayor Dean Trantalis, who said he received word that there was a SWAT team standoff at Parscale’s residence. “It was indicated to me that he had weapons,” said Mayor Trantalis. “Politics aside, this fellow obviously suffers from emotional distress … 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.”

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Parscale, who had previously run the digital strategy for Trump’s 2016 campaign, was announced as campaign manager for the 2020 reelection campaign in February 2018. However, a new campaign manager was announced in July 2020, leaving Parscale instead as a senior adviser.

Parscale became a face for the Trump campaign and often served as a “warm-up act” at rallies, according to USA Today. His relationship with Trump and his family dates back to 2011 when his digital marketing firm was hired by the Trump Organization to build websites and develop media strategies. But his role as the top honcho at the campaign came to a halt when Trump announced a new campaign manager, Bill Stepien.

Earlier this year, Trump allegedly blew up on Parscale during a campaign team meeting. The mercurial president was reportedly livid over his trailing in national polls against his opponent, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden — all while fighting against public backlash over an uncertain economy amid the coronavirus pandemic and growing unrest over police brutality and racial violence in America.

Trump reportedly lashed out in an “angry outburst” against Parscale and even threatened to sue him after receiving a barrage of negative press for his handling of the pandemic, CNN reported. While Trump and Parscale had seemingly patched things up, a couple of months later, Parscale was demoted from his top position on Trump’s campaign staff.

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