Former Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum was involved in an alleged crystal meth-related incident Thursday night at a Miami Beach hotel.
From the Miami Herald:
Andrew Gillum, who in 2018 came within 34,000 votes of becoming Florida’s governor, was discovered by police at a South Beach hotel early Friday morning in a room with bags of possible methamphetamine and in the company of a man who appeared to have overdosed on drugs, according to a Miami Beach police report.
Police were called to the Mondrian South Beach early Friday morning and upon arrival, discovered Travis Dyson, 30, being treated for an apparent heart attack by first responders. Two other men in the room at the time were identified as Aldo Mejias, 56, and Gillum.
Gillum, who was not arrested, was reportedly too inebriated to correspond with police.
In speaking to police, Mejias explained that he had provided his credit card information to Dyson in order to rent the room for Friday, but when he arrived at the room shortly before midnight, he found Dyson and Gillum “under the influence of an unknown substance.”
After Dyson opened the door to let Mejias in, Dyson collapsed on the bed and began to have difficulty breathing. Mejias then struggled to wake Dyson up, who then vomited and collapsed again, forcing Mejias to perform chest compressions on him until paramedics arrived.
Mejias also informed the police that he saw Gillum vomit in the bathroom.
Dyson was taken to Mount Sinai Medical Center, where he remains in stable condition.
In response to this alarming news, Gillum provided the following statement to The Root:
“I was in Miami last night for a wedding celebration when first responders were called to assist one of my friends. While I had too much to drink, I want to be clear that I have never used methamphetamines. I apologize to the people of Florida for the distraction this has caused our movement.
“I’m thankful to the incredible Miami Beach EMS team for their efforts. I will spend the next few weeks with my family and appreciate privacy during this time.”
We’ll keep you updated as this story develops.