Brad Parscale resigns from the Trump re-election campaign to 'focus on family' after he was detained by cops as his wife now says he has never physically abused her - despite telling officers he had
Brad Parscale has announced he is taking time away from his role in the Trump re-election campaign, days after he was tackled by a SWAT team and involuntarily committed to a hospital for threatening to harm himself.
'I am stepping away from my company and any role in the campaign for the immediate future to focus on my family and get help dealing with the overwhelming stress,' Parscale told Politico in a statement on Wednesday.
The 44-year-old ex-Trump campaign manager was hospitalized on Sunday after barricading himself inside his Fort Lauderdale house with a gun.
His wife Candice told cops that Parscale had been acting 'crazy' and 'irate' and said she fled after she saw him come out of a room and 'cock a gun.'
Police also reported seeing bruises and 'contusions' on her arms which she reportedly said were from a physical altercation with her husband last week.
On Wednesday, Candice denied Parscale had abused her, saying the statements she made to police during the incident had been 'misconstrued.'
Brad Parscale on Wednesday announced he is taking time away from his role in Trump's re-election campaign. The 44-year-old had been demoted from manager in July but remained on the campaign helping run its digital operation
Parscale had allegedly threatened to shoot himself and others on multiple occasions in the weeks before police stormed his Florida mansion on Sunday afternoon, according to a police petition seeking permission to temporarily confiscate a small arsenal of firearms from his home. Pictured: Parscale moments before SWAT officers tackled him to the ground and had him committed to a hospital
'Let it be clear my husband was not violent towards me that day or any day prior,' she said.
'We extend our thanks for everyone's thoughts and support during this difficult time for our family and we eagerly await all of the facts emerging,' the couple said in a joint statement.
Parscale had been detained under the state's Baker Act which allows anyone deemed to be a threat to themselves or others to be detained for 72 hours for psychiatric evaluation.
Candice told officers her husband had been stressed out recently and that he had made comments about shooting himself, according to a police report.
Investigators said ten guns were later removed from the home. The wife also said that Parscale drinks and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
One of the responding officers reported that he witnessed bruising on the wife's arm and face, which she said 'occurred a few days ago during a physical altercation with [Brad], which she did not report.'
The petition revealed a bevy of alarming details about Parscale's heavy drinking, alleged physical assaults on his wife Candace (pictured together), and threats to harm himself and others
DailyMail.com revealed on Monday that Candice Parscale was seen screaming and fleeing her home in just her bikini on Wednesday before officers arrived at the scene. Candice told police that her husband had shown increasing signs of stress in recent weeks
During the standoff, an officer had called Parscale and asked him to leave the house unarmed, but the report said he remained in the home for about an hour, until another cop arrived and convinced him to come outside.
Earlier on Wednesday, a petition filed by police seeking to confiscate firearms at the house revealed a bevy of alarming allegations about Parscale's heavy drinking, physical assaults on his wife, and threats to harm himself and others.
The document painted a portrait of a man whose life has spiraled out of control since his Trump campaign demotion in July when the president appointed Bill Stepien to the manager role.
Parscale, who was originally hired to run Trump's 2016 campaign by Jared Kushner, had remained part of the campaign, helping run its digital operation.
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'.
When Parscale reluctantly emerged from his home he 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 petition
Members of a SWAT team waited for Parscale to put down his beer before they tackled him to the ground and handcuffed him
President Trump announced late July 15, 2020, that he was replacing Brad Parscale as his campaign manager with longtime political aide Bill Stepien
The claims were alarming enough to convince a Broward County judge to sign off on the temporary confiscation of 10 guns from Parscale'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.
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.
Police were called after Parscale threatened to harm himself Sunday afternoon
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