By Erin Coates
Travis Dyson, a gay male escort
More details about former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew
Gillum, who narrowly lost the Florida gubernatorial race in 2018, and the
“inebriated state” he was found in early Friday morning have been released.
Gillum was found in a Mondrian South Beach Hotel room in Miami
Beach with Travis Dyson, a 30-year-old who identifies himself as a “pornstar
performer,” according to WPLG, which cited his profile on a gay male escort website
called Rent Men.
The news outlet also said Dyson had shared videos of
himself with a muscular man identified as his boyfriend on social media, but his Instagram page appears to have been
taken down as of Saturday morning.
According to police documents, police responded to a
cardiac-arrest distress call at around 1 a.m. and the Miami Beach Fire-Rescue
was on scene treating Dyson for a possible drug overdose, the Miami New Times reported.
The police report said three bags of what was suspected
to be crystal methamphetamine were also found “in plain sight.”
Aldo Mejias, who said he had lent Dyson his credit card
information to rent a hotel room Friday afternoon, told responding officers
that when he arrived at the hotel room at around 11 p.m., Dyson collapsed on a
bed and began vomiting.
Gillum also appeared to be “under the influence of an
unknown substance” and vomited in the bathroom while Mejias gave Dyson CPR,
Mejias said.
The police report also said that officers had attempted
to speak with Gillum, but he “was unable to communicate with officers due to
his inebriated state.”
In a statement Friday, Gillum denied using methamphetamines.
“I was in Miami last night for a wedding celebration when
first responders were called to assist one of my friends,” he said, according
to Miami Herald reporter David Smiley.
“While I had too much to drink, I want to be clear that I
have never used methamphetamines.”
He added, “I apologize to the people of Florida for the
distraction this has caused our movement.”
When the Miami New Times reached out to Dyson, he seemed
confused by Gillum’s wedding explanation.
“I personally was not celebrating a wedding. I don’t know
if [Gillum] was in town for a wedding. He did not mention that,” Dyson said.
He added that he and Gillum have “been friends for a
while,” knowing each other since around last spring.
Erin
Coates started as an editor for The Western Journal for over two years before
becoming a news writer. A University of Oregon graduate, Erin has conducted
research in data journalism and contributed to various publications as a writer
and editor.
