(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) F.L. “Bubba” Copeland, the mayor of Smiths Station, Alabama, tragically took his own life on Friday, shortly after his private life as a “transgender curvy girl” was exposed in a series of revelations by the conservative news outlet 1819 News.
Copeland, a prominent preacher and politician, was thrust into the spotlight as his alter ego, Brittini Blaire Summerlin, emerged into the public eye.
Smiths Station Fred “Bubba” Copeland has operated a social media account for over four years as a transgender woman under the pseudonyms Brittini Blaire and Britiniblaire Summerlin.https://t.co/TBul39wPW8
— 1819 News (@1819News) November 1, 2023
According to reports from WTVM, law enforcement officers were asked to perform a welfare check on Copeland. Upon their arrival, “He exited the vehicle, produced a handgun, and took his own life,” the sheriff’s office said.
Prior to the shocking event, 1819 News had unveiled Copeland’s secret life, detailing his online presence as a transgender figure who loved plus-size fashion and authored transgender fiction and erotica.
Trans activists are mourning the suicide of an Alabama politician who they say was “involuntarily outed” as a “trans woman.”
Smiths Station Mayor F.L. “Bubba” Copeland had written erotic fantasies about killing a local woman and assuming her identity.https://t.co/lO9g8r4jgo
— REDUXX (@ReduxxMag) November 4, 2023
In a statement prior to his death, Copeland addressed the damning reporting, admitting to his online activity but claiming it was merely a hobby to get “rid of stress.”
“Just my wife knows about it,” Copeland said, according to 1819. “It’s a hobby I do to relieve stress. I have a lot of stress, and I’m not medically transitioning. It’s just a bit of a character I’m playing. … I don’t go out and seek solicitation or anything like that.”
In his statements, Copeland claimed he had not exited his house dressed in women’s clothing. “It’s just a hobby that I have inside my own home that has not traveled outside of my home,” he added. “I have not done anything outside of my own home besides post or publish anything on the internet, and that does not affect anything with inside my jurisdiction.”
Former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., reacted to Copeland’s passing with disgust, blaming the conservative outlet for exposing the mayor’s secret life.
“I am so saddened at the death of my friend Mayor Bubba Copeland. He was a good man and a great mayor who led the small town of Smith Station through the tough times of a devastating tornado a few years ago,” he said. “It is sad and disgusting how he was treated by the @1819News for personal decisions however misguided they might have been.
I am so saddened at the death of my friend Mayor Bubba Copeland. He was a good man and a great mayor who led the small town of Smith Station through the tough times of a devastating tornado a few years ago. I toured the destruction with him, helped him navigate the FEMA…
— Doug Jones (@DougJones) November 4, 2023
After the release of the expose, several of Copeland’s allies condemned the reporting behavior. Notably, Copeland served as a pastor at First Baptist Church of Phenic City.
Alabama Baptist state leadership responded to the reporting, calling the behavior “unbiblical.”
“We have become aware of the alleged unbiblical behavior related to the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Phenix City,” the church said. “We are praying for the leaders of the church family as they seek to determine the truth concerning these accusations. As the people of God, we pray for the pastor and his family as well. We are in consultation with the Russell Baptist Association’s leadership as they endeavor to assist the First Baptist family during this critical time of need.”
