Former Florida Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew Gillum was arrested July 2 in Daphne, Alabama, and booked into the Baldwin County Jail on drug-related charges, according to police and jail records. Gillum, 46, was released the next day after posting a combined $6,500 bond, records show.
Former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, the Democratic nominee for Florida governor in 2018, was arrested in Alabama last week after police said a traffic stop led to the discovery of illegal drugs.
The Daphne Police Department said Gillum was pulled over on July 2 for erratic driving. Authorities said officers found marijuana and methamphetamine in his vehicle and arrested him on drug possession charges. Jail records list charges that include possession of a controlled substance described in booking logs as “dangerous drugs,” along with marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia. Gillum was released July 3 after posting a combined $6,500 bond, according to jail records.
The Baldwin County Clerk of Court’s office told The Associated Press that court records for the case were not yet available, and information about an attorney who could speak for Gillum was not immediately listed.
Gillum’s arrest comes years after his narrow loss to Republican Ron DeSantis in Florida’s 2018 governor’s race.
In March 2020, Miami Beach police were called to a hotel room where another man required medical attention in what authorities described as a possible drug overdose. A police report from that incident said Gillum was found in the room and appeared intoxicated; suspected methamphetamine was reported in the room, though prosecutors did not bring criminal charges against Gillum.
Days later, Gillum announced he would enter a rehabilitation facility for alcohol abuse.
Gillum also faced federal public-corruption charges filed in 2022. In May 2023, a federal jury acquitted him on one count of making false statements to the FBI, while jurors deadlocked on the remaining counts; the judge declared a mistrial on those charges, and prosecutors later moved to dismiss them.
Separately, Gillum reached a settlement with the Florida Commission on Ethics in which he agreed to pay a $5,000 civil penalty to resolve ethics allegations tied to gifts he received while serving as Tallahassee’s mayor.
