Ex-Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale threatened to shoot himself and others, cops say

1

View
comments

Embattled ex-Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale allegedly threatened to shoot himself and others on multiple occasions in the weeks before police stormed his Florida mansion and had him involuntarily committed to a hospital.    

Fort Lauderdale police made that claim in a petition seeking permission to confiscate a cache of firearms discovered at Parscale’s home on Sunday after someone called 911 and reported that he was suicidal and had barricaded himself inside with a loaded weapon. 

The petition revealed a bevy of alarming details about Parscale’s heavy drinking, physical assaults on his wife Candace, and threats to harm himself and others – painting a portrait of a man whose life has spiraled out of control since his Trump campaign demotion in July. 

Fort Lauderdale Detective Christopher Carita wrote that Parscale, who stands at 6’8″, ‘poses a significant danger of causing personal injury to himself or others by having a firearm or any ammunition in his custody or control, or by potentially purchasing, possession, or receiving a firearm or any ammunition’. 

The claims were alarming enough to convince a Broward County judge to sign off on the temporary confiscation of 10 guns from the demoted Trump aide’s home in the upscale Seven Isles neighborhood on Wednesday.  

The petition, first obtained by the Miami Herald, also confirmed several details from the incident that DailyMail.com had already brought to light earlier this week.   

Scroll down for video 

Police rushed to Parscale’s home just before 4pm on Sunday after a caller reported that he had barricaded himself, fired a gun and was threatening to kill himself, the petition states. 

DailyMail.com revealed on Monday that Candice Parscale was seen screaming and fleeing the home in just her bikini, telling a passerby: ‘I think my husband just killed himself.’ 

According to the petition, Candice was standing outside when officers arrived. She told them that her husband had been drinking, was armed and she was worried that he would shoot either her or himself.  

She said that she’d heard a loud bang – presumably a gunshot – after she fled from the home, but said she believed he was still alive because she heard him ‘ranting and pacing’ inside. 

Parscale contacted one of the officers outside the home, who eventually convinced him to come outside unarmed, the petition states. 

When he reluctantly emerged, Parscale was shirtless, holding a can of beer, his ‘speech was slurred as though he was under the influence of alcohol and he appeared to be crying’, an officer wrote in the document.   

Members of a SWAT team waited for Parscale to put down his beer before they tackled him to the ground and handcuffed him. He was then taken to the hospital as officers began casing the home, with Candice’s permission. 

The petition notes that officers observed several bruises on Candice’s arms, which she said came from her husband striking her during earlier incident. 

She said that Parscale didn’t harm her on Sunday, aside from slapping a phone out of her hand during a verbal altercation.  

Police said a victim’s advocate contacted Candice on Tuesday to discuss whether she wants to file charges against her husband, but none have been filed as of Wednesday afternoon.  

Candice also told police about how Parscale had shown increasing signs of stress in recent weeks and had frequently picked up his guns and racked them in a threatening manner. 

The firearms outlined in the seizure petition were: Six handguns, including two 9 mm Glocks, a 9mm Nighthawk, a 9 mm Wilson Combat, a .45 caliber Dan Wessen and a .22 caliber North American Arms, as well as a Remington 700 model long rifle, a Remington 12-gauge shotgun, a Daniel Defense 5.56 mm long rifle and a Barreta 12-gauge shotgun. 

The petition was served to Parscale on Tuesday night, just as DailyMail.com exclusively revealed that he is currently under investigation for ‘stealing’ between $25-$40million from Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign, according to well-placed sources.

The 44-year-old is also being investigated for ‘pocketing’ nearly another $10million from the Republican National Committee, the insiders added.  

A Trump insider explained to DailyMail.com that Parscale went into a tailspin after he was demoted in July and replaced by his former number two, Bill Stepien, as he’s worried about the ‘gravy train’ ending and keeping up with his lavish lifestyle. 

Tim Murtaugh, the Communications Director for Trump’s 2020 campaign, said in a statement to DailyMail.com: ‘It’s utterly false. There is no investigation, no audit, and there never was.’

Steve Guest, the RNC Rapid Response Director, said: ‘This report is categorically false. There is no audit or investigation of Brad at the RNC.’ 

It was widely reported that the President lost faith in Parscale after a much-trumpeted campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma drew a dismal crowd, relegating him to his previous role in digital and data strategy.

The well-placed source said just days later, Trump ordered an audit of the spending of the Republican National Committee.

The probe appeared to be geared towards examining Parscale’s handling of the campaign’s money, the source said, putting the 6ft 8in aide under ‘tremendous pressure’. 

The source explained: ‘The thing about what Parscale did with the finances of the campaign could actually be totally legal. 

‘But Brad has tons of bills since his lifestyle picked up, and he sees the gravy train coming to an end.’