Bubba Copeland shot himself in front of police on Friday, days after he begged 1819 News not to expose his private life.

A small-town Alabama pastor and mayor killed himself Friday, days after a local conservative news website published a story that included photos of him wearing women’s clothing and makeup.

F.L. “Bubba” Copeland, who was the mayor of Smiths Station and the pastor at First Baptist Church in Phenix City, shot himself in front of police during a welfare check, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said.

Copeland’s private life was exposed Wednesday by the conservative blog 1819 News, which was once owned by the right-wing Alabama Policy Institute and whose top editor is a former Breitbart News contributor.

  • @pwnieb0y@lemmy.world
    20•2 years ago

    IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE LIKE THIS! If people won’t listen to Jesus, maybe they can listen to his modern day apostle Fred Rogers when he said “I like you just the way you are.”

    • athos77
      9•2 years ago

      maybe they can listen to his modern day apostle Fred Rogers when he said “I like you just the way you are.”

      Right. That would be Presbyterian minister, children’s show host, gave-out-full-size-candy-bars-at-Halloween Fred Rogers, yes? The one that Fox went out of their way to describe as “an evil, evil man” who was [in effect] responsible for corrupting today’s youth? Well, sadly, I think I can explain why they don’t listen to Mr. Rogers …

  • katy ✨
    17•2 years ago

    charge the owners of the blog with 3rd degree murder.

  • NusmEnglish
    9•2 years ago

    One of the sad things is how big he’s smiling in the picture. Looks like a jolly guy.

  • hugz
    3•2 years ago

    As a republican, he was part of the problem

  • @Fapper_McFapper@lemmy.world
    0•2 years ago

    Conservative blog 1819 must be very proud of themselves.

    Edit: I just emailed them asking which Republican they plan on killing next. Will let you all know if I get a reply.

  • downpunxx
    0•2 years ago

    All Republicans are hypocritical bigots, by definition. It’s the core of their political party, it’s who they signed up to be identified with, it’s who they are, or in the case of this poor bigoted fuck, were. I don’t want to see any “but this was a nice republican” bullshit. After the Southern Strategy in 1964, all Republicans are trash, every single one.

    Institutionalized racism, misogyny, homophobia, and white Christian separatism as party platform. No matter how “conservative” Republicans claimed to be, The Southern Strategy was the core value and singular driving force for the past 60 years. MAGA isn’t a symptom, it’s result.

    There’s more work to be done :