Andrew Gillum, Former Democrat Rising Star, Arrested On Methamphetamine Charges In Alabama

Andrew Gillum, the 46-year-old former Tallahassee mayor who came within 33,000 votes of defeating Ron DeSantis in Florida's 2018 governor's race and was once widely considered one of the Democratic Party's brightest national prospects, was arrested on July 2 in Daphne, Alabama after officers pulled him over for erratic driving on U.S. Highway 98 at 10:45 PM.

A Daphne Police officer spotted a glass pipe on the center console of Gillum's vehicle, giving probable cause to search the car.

Officers recovered approximately three grams of methamphetamine, eight pre-rolled marijuana joints, four cut straws, three pipes and a bong.

He was booked into the Baldwin County Correctional Facility and released the following day after posting a $6,500 bond.

He faces three charges, felony possession of dangerous drugs, carrying up to five years in prison, and misdemeanor possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Gillum has not commented publicly. The Alabama arrest is the latest episode in a series of legal and personal difficulties that have followed him since 2020, when Miami Beach police found him unresponsive at a hotel where methamphetamine was discovered.

He denied using drugs at that time. In 2022, federal prosecutors indicted him on conspiracy, wire fraud and false statement charges.

A jury acquitted him of lying to the FBI in 2023, deadlocked on the remaining counts, and prosecutors subsequently dismissed the case.