Former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale hospitalized for emotional distress

(Image credit: Tom Brenner/Getty Images)

Brad Parscale, a key figure in President Trump's two campaigns, was taken from his house in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday night after a SWAT team responded to a call from his wife that he was heavily armed and threatening to kill himself, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports. He was transported to the hospital under the Baker Act, a Florida law that allows families to involuntarily admit people for emergency mental health treatment.

"When officers arrived on scene, they made contact with the armed subject's wife, who advised her husband was armed and had access to multiple firearms inside the residence and was threatening to harm himself," Fort Lauderdale Police Department Sgt. DeAnna Greenlaw told CNN. Police officers "developed a rapport, and safely negotiated for him to exit the home," where he "was detained without injury." Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Karen Dietrich said the encounter at the house "was very short," adding, "We went and got him help."

Parscale, 44, ran Trump's digital operations during his 2016 campaign and was campaign manager for his 2020 run until July, when he was demoted but kept on in a senior position. Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtagh said in a statement that "Brad Parscale is a member of our family and we all love him," and appeared to blame Trump's critics for his distress: "The disgusting, personal attacks from Democrats and disgruntled RINOs have gone too far, and they should be ashamed of themselves for what they've done to this man and his family."

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Parscale told the Sun Sentinel after moving to Fort Lauderdale from Texas two years ago that he chose the heavily Democratic city because he loved boating and paying no state income tax. "Politics aside, this fellow obviously suffers from emotional distress," Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis (D) told the newspaper Sunday night. "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."

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.