Disgraced former politician Andrew Gillum, a one-time Democratic Party rising star and CNN political commentator, has been arrested in Alabama for allegedly having drugs, according to records.
Gillum – who narrowly lost to Ron DeSantis in the 2018 gubernatorial election – was arrested Thursday in Daphne before being booked for possession of dangerous drugs, marijuana and drug paraphernalia, according to Baldwin County jail records.
He was released the same day, but details about the circumstances that led up to his arrest remain unclear. It was not clear exactly what dangerous drugs were involved.
Gillum, 46, could face up to a year in jail and a $6,000 fine if he’s convicted of the marijuana offense, a Class A misdemeanor in Alabama.
His run-in with the law comes six years after he was found inebriated inside Miami Beach’s Mondrian hotel room alongside a male escort and three bags of suspected crystal meth.
Gillum was found in the bathroom vomiting and he was “unable to communicate with the officers due to his inebriated state,” responding cops said at the time.
The escort, Travis Dyson, said he met Gillum on the gay-dating app Grindr two weeks before the March 2020 incident and claimed he and Gillum had taken drugs, allegations that were emphatically denied by the ex-pol, the Miami Herald reported.
Empty beer bottles and prescription bottles were found scattered in the hotel room where Gillum said he been staying for a wedding.
“While I had too much to drink, I want to be clear that I have never used methamphetamines,” he said at the time, according to WESH.
Gillum later checked into rehab – and said he had fallen into depression following his defeat to DeSantis.
“After conversation with my family and deep reflection, I have made the decision to seek help, guidance, and enter a rehabilitation facility at the time,” he said at the time.
“This has been a wake-up call for me. Since my race for governor ended, I fell into a depression that has led to alcohol abuse.
“I witnessed my father suffer from alcoholism and I know the damaging effects it can have when untreated.
“I also know that alcoholism is often a symptom of deeper struggles. I am committed to doing the personal work to heal fully and show up in the world as a more complete person.”
Gillum was never arrested, nor charged over the incident.
In 2022, Gillum was accused of conspiring with his mentor, Sharon Lettman-Hicks, to divert campaign contributions for personal use. A mistrial was declared on one conspiracy charge and 17 fraud offenses.
After losing the 2018 election by 34,000 votes, he appeared on CNN as a commentator.
