Trump's former campaign head hospitalized after suicide threat

Photo:AFP

Miami, United States | AFP |

Donald Trump's former campaign manager Brad Parscale was taken to a Florida hospital after his wife told officers he threatened to commit suicide, media reports said. 

Parscale, an imposing and outspoken figure, was replaced as campaign manager in July -- just four months ahead of November's presidential election -- when Donald Trump was sinking in the polls. 

Officers were called to a home "in reference to an armed male attempting suicide," Fort Lauderdale police officer DeAnna Greenlaw told CNN on Sunday.

The man was later identified as Parscale by officers, who said his wife had made the call.

Parscale's wife said her husband was "armed and had access to multiple firearms inside the residence and was threatening to harm himself," Greenlaw told CNN in a statement. 

He quickly surrendered to officers under a Florida law that allows the temporary detention of someone impaired by mental illness.

Parscale was demoted shortly after a Trump campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma that was widely panned for its poor attendance and a rambling speech by the president.

He remained a senior member of the campaign team.

"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," Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh told the South Florida Sun Sentinel newspaper.

"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.”