An Alabama preacher and politician committed suicide on Friday two days after being exposed for having a secret life he shared online as a “curvy transgender girl.”
FL “Bubba” Copeland, who was mayor of tiny Smiths Station, population just 6,756, as well as pastor of the First Baptist Church in nearby Phenix City, shot himself around 5 p.m. in front of the sheriffs who followed him.
Copeland was a married father of three children.
His suicide occurred after police were asked to do a welfare check and begin following his car.
“He exited the vehicle, pulled out a gun and took his own life,” the sheriff’s office said.
Copeland’s suicide followed an expose on 1819 News, a news site once owned by the conservative think tank Alabama Policy Institute, that described Copeland’s secret life online as a transgender woman under the pseudonym Brittini Blaire. Summerlin.
“Brittini” described herself as a “curvy transgender girl in transition, who loves smiling, clothes and shoes.”
FL “Bubba Copeland, mayor of Smiths Station and pastor of First Baptist Church of Phenix City, committed suicide early Friday morning after being exposed for having a secret online life as a transgender woman. Facebook/FL ” Bubba” Copeland Mayor Smiths Station Alabama
One of his social media profiles showed Copeland wearing different women’s outfits, including photos of himself in women’s underwear in his bedroom.
1819 News also reported that Copeland could be seen wearing some of his wife’s clothing in his posts.
Alabama preacher FL “Bubba” Copeland shot himself to death Friday after being outed Wednesday for having a secret online life as a transgender woman. Facebook/FL ” Bubba” Copeland Mayor Smiths Station Alabama
Copeland referred to himself as a “thick transgender woman” and encouraged other trans women to undergo hormone replacement therapy.
He also published transgender pornography, as well as transgender fiction and erotica that he apparently wrote, according to 1819 News.
Copeland called her online alter ego “Brittini Blaire Summerlin” and said she loved “smiling, clothes and shoes.”
Copeland told 1819 News, which published the report on his 62nd birthday, that his online alter ego was a harmless “hobby” that went no further than his home.
“Only my wife knows,” Copeland said. “It’s a hobby I do to relieve stress. I have a lot of stress and I am not medically transitioning. It’s just a little character I’m playing. … I don’t go out looking for deals or anything like that.”
“What I do in my private life has nothing to do with what I do in my holy life,” Copeland told 1819 journalist Craig Monger. “Does this have any effect on me being mayor, that sometimes I wear a dress or sometimes I put on makeup? Does that have anything to do with me being mayor or pastor?
Copeland was first elected mayor of Smiths Station, Alabama in 2016. Facebook/FL ” Bubba” Copeland Mayor Smiths Station Alabama
He appeared to take his departure in stride after the complaint was published Wednesday.
That night, he delivered his usual sermon at the First Baptist Church of Phenix City and briefly addressed the scandal.
“I’ve been attacked on the Internet,” Copeland said. “An article that was written about my capacity as mayor [and] capacity as a shepherd. The article is not about who or what I am.”
He downplayed the online material as “an attempt at humor.”
Copeland met with then-President Trump in 2019 after a deadly storm hit the area.
“Yes, I have taken pictures with my wife in the privacy of our home in an attempt at humor because I know I am not a handsome man nor am I a beautiful woman,” Copeland continued. “I apologize for any embarrassment caused by my private and personal life becoming public.”
An interview Copeland did in March with the WRBL in Columbus, Georgia, was moving and eerily foreshadowed his own fate.
“I always say, ‘We’re Mayberry 2023,’” he said of Smiths Station. “It really is like everyone knows your name. You know, everyone dies famous in a small town. That is what it is. It’s the Friday night lights. It’s mom’s apple pie. Our community has very, very low crime and very low drug abuse. Our number one problem is suicide. It’s sad. I think a lot of this has to do with the military. I think some of this has to do with social media and the reality of that. “That is the number one problem we have.”
Copeland called his small town “Mayberry 2023” in an interview in March. Facebook/FL “Bubba” Copeland Mayor Smiths Station Alabama
In 2019, Copeland led the city’s recovery after a terrifying tornado in March with winds up to 170 mph hit the nearby town of Beauregard, killing 23 people.
Copeland met with then-President Donald Trump at the time, who had come to observe the devastating aftermath of the storm.
If you are having suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free, confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can call the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 988 or visit SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn