A 911 call made by Jerry Falwell Jr.’s wife just days after his resignation from Liberty University revealed that he was losing ‘a lot of blood’ after allegedly injuring himself on a trash can in a fall while drunk.
In the call record of the incident, Becki Falwell refused to cooperate with officers after she called to report that her husband was bleeding heavily and would not go with her to the hospital.
Dispatchers arrived to find Falwell with lacerations under his left eye, across the bridge of his nose, and above both his right and left eyes, as he slurred his speech with empty alcohol containers nearby.
The call, acquired by the Huffington Post through a Freedom of Information request, took place on August 31, a week after Falwell was forced to move aside as president of the evangelical university founded by his father Jerry Falwell Sr.
He was plagued by a string of controversies culminating in a claim from a former poolboy that he had an affair with Becki Falwell for years with the consent of her husband.
One week after the allegations of Giancarlo Granda, now 29, were published by Reuters, first responders were called to the Falwell couple’s home in Bedford County, Virginia, at 2.30am.
Audio from the 911 call involves Becki Falwell telling the dispatcher that she had been at church at 11pm that night when she received a call from her husband to say he was injured.
She says that she was forced to break a door in with a chair after finding their home locked and discovered her husband surrounded by ‘a lot of blood right now’ after a fall down the stairs.
Becki confirmed to the dispatcher that her husband had been drinking but when asked if he was drinking heavily, she refused to cooperate stating: ‘I’m not going to answer that question.’
She was told that the information was important to understand how severe his injuries were as alcohol thins the blood to which she responded: ‘The more I tell you the name, the more you’re going to understand why we’re not talking to you right now’.
Liberty University imposes a strict code of conduct for its students which bans them from drinking alcohol.
‘He won’t let her take him to the hospital as he is stubborn. Caller was not forthcoming,’ the dispatcher log noted.
When first responders arrived to the scene, they found Jerry which head injuries from hitting his head on a trash can.
They noted that there was ‘blood in the area he indicated’ and ’empty alcohol containers.’
‘Jerry had slurred and slowed speach (sic) and would repeat things already asked.’
It is not known if he was transferred to hospital for medical treatment or was treated on the scene.
The next morning, Liberty University revealed that they had launched a comprehensive investigation by an outside firm into Falwell’s tenure.
Falwell, one of the most influential right-wing Christian leaders in the United States, resigned from the university on August 25 following the pool boy controversy, as well a list of other recent scandals, many of which also appeared to involve alcohol.
Giancarlo Granda
According to The Wall Street Journal, administrators say Falwell showed up to campus drunk.
He also accidentally once sent a racy photograph of his wife to administrators at a football game, and to his son, they claimed.
In August, the leading evangelical Trump supporter was blasted as a hypocrite for posting a picture with his pants unzipped and midriff exposed, while appearing to hold a glass of alcohol.
The picture, posted and deleted from Instagram, sparked controversy because of the strict code of conduct for Liberty University students which requires them to dress with ‘appropriateness’ and ‘modesty’.
Falwell tried to explain the post in an unusual interview with Morninline on WLNI 1059, in Lynchburg, Virginia, claiming the woman was his wife’s assistant and that he’s ‘gonna try to be a good boy from here on out’.
Granda has also claimed to Fox News that despite the strict rules for Liberty University students, the Falwells did not adhere to the same moral code.
He claimed that couple’s ‘lavish lifestyle consisted of heavy drinking and going to nightclubs, which is strictly prohibited by the honor code that they expect everyone else to follow.’
Granda says he had a six-year affair with Becki that began when they met in Miami in 2012, when he was just 20 and was working as a pool boy.
He claims that Jerry knew about it and watched them had sex the first time then continued to give his blessing to the affair for years afterwards.
Their seemingly friendly relationship fell apart when he tried to be bought out of the Miami gay-friendly hostel that the Falwells bought and put him in charge of.
Then, Granda threatened to ‘go kamikaze’ and share details publicly.
To get ahead of him, Jerry released a statement claiming Granda had had an affair with his wife but that it was brief and he had nothing to do with it.
The former pool boy said that the couple had been harassing him ever since he spoke out.
‘[They] have been relentlessly harassing me and people close to me,’ he complained.
He said he’d been afraid ‘for years’ to speak out because of how the couple may respond.
Liberty tells all of its students that sex should only be between a man and his wife, and that sobriety should be practiced.
The Falwell family has denied any and all wrongdoing.
Giaancarlo Granda meets Donald Trump, 2012
Staff members at Liberty University have now been instructed to refrain from interacting with the school’s ousted president.
The university’s general counsel, David Corry, wrote in an email to staff in early September that Falwell had made ‘uncomfortable’ calls to some employees after resigning.
Corry told employees they cannot give Falwell information about the school or do any favors for him while on the job because the interactions could create the perception that he is helping manage the school.
‘This impression is not well received by our supporters who do not want Mr. Falwell to be running Liberty University behind the scenes,’ Corry wrote.
Falwell took over as the president of Liberty after the death of his famous evangelist father, the Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr.
Under his leadership, Liberty’s online program exploded, as did its endowment; the campus underwent a massive transformation; and the athletics programs improved.
He has also attracted attention for incendiary political commentary during his tenure.
In 2015 he said that if more people had a conceal and carry permit ‘we could end those Muslims before they walked in and killed them’.
Falwell also aggressively campaigned for Trump during the 2016 election.
In May 2019, Falwell denied a stunning report that longtime Trump fixer Michael Cohen helped him to resolve a ‘blackmail’ attempt to help make ‘terrible’ photos go away in advance of his own pivotal Trump endorsement.