DAPHNE, Ala. — Andrew Gillum, who lost to Ron DeSantis by an extremely slim margin in the 2018 Florida governor’s race and served as Tallahassee’s mayor from 2014-2018, was arrested last week in Alabama on drug charges, Local 10 News learned Tuesday.
According to online jail records, the former politician was arrested Thursday night in Daphne, Alabama on charges of possession of dangerous drugs, drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.
He has since been released from jail.
Further details surrounding the 46-year-old’s arrest were not immediately released.
According to a press release from the Daphne Police Department, officers pulled over Gillum as he was driving erratically at about 10:45 p.m. Thursday.
Police said one of the officers spotted a glass pipe on the center console of the vehicle, which led them to search the car.
According to police, several rolled marijuana cigarettes and three packages of a substance that tested positive for methamphetamine were also recovered.
Gillum was then arrested and booked into the Daphne City Jail before being transported to the Baldwin County Correctional Facility.
Gillum, who ran as a Democrat against DeSantis in the 2018 election, previously made headlines in March 2020 after Miami Beach police said they found him at the Mondrian South Beach Hotel in an “inebriated” state with two other men.
According to a police report, officers found three small clear bags inside the hotel room containing suspected crystal meth, although the men were never charged with a crime.
Gillum released a statement after the 2020 incident, saying he was at a wedding the night before the incident and was drinking, but denied taking any methamphetamines.
Gillum also made headlines in 2023 when he was acquitted of lying to the FBI in a corruption case that also involved illegal use of campaign contributions.
He has not publicly released a statement regarding the latest incident in Alabama, as of Tuesday morning.
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