A small Alabama town has expressed grief and outrage at the death of a beloved mayor who died by suicide after facing intense online harassment when images of him dressed in women’s clothing and wigs were published by a far-right website.
Mayor FL “Bubba” Copeland, 49, of Smiths Station in east Alabama, killed himself on 3 November. At the time, local police were attempting to perform a wellness check on him, the Lee county sheriff’s office said in a statement.
“We lost a good man in a very senseless and tragic way. The community is all broken up about it,” Larry DiChiara, the former superintendent of Phenix City schools who has known Copeland for almost 20 years, said, adding: “He’s a hard man to replace.”
During a worship service last Sunday, a First Baptist church member, David White, shared remarks on the passing of Copeland, who was also the pastor there.
“Despite what may have been implied in the media, members of this church have been steadfast in their love and concern of their pastor,” White said, in a recording of the service.
“I know that my friend Bubba Copeland loved this church and its people,” he added.
Copeland was laid to rest three days ago and community members praised his “heart of gold”.
Before his death, many had grown concerned for Copeland’s wellbeing after the hard-right website 1819 News in Alabama shared images of Copeland wearing makeup and dressed as a woman as well as excerpts of erotic fiction Copeland had written.
The 1819 News site also published screenshots of social media accounts used by Copeland, in which Copeland described himself as a transgender woman. Copeland, who is married to a woman and has children, confirmed that he ran the accounts, but said that he dressed up as a hobby to release stress.
Copeland specifically asked 1819 News not to publish such information.
The Guardian reached out to several members of 1819 News’ editorial team, but did not receive a response.
Copeland addressed the articles in his last sermon.
“I apologize for any embarrassment caused by my private and personal life,” Copeland said to the church’s congregation.
“I have nothing to be ashamed of. A lot of things were taken out of context,” he added.
There is no record of Copeland preaching any hypocritical, anti-LGBTQ+ messages, the Los Angeles Blade reported.
Community members described Copeland as an empathetic and dedicated leader.
The First Baptist church published a eulogy for Copeland, underscoring his long history of service in Lee county.
“[Above] all, beyond serving his church, city and community, Bubba loved spending time with his family,” the church said.
The former Alabama Democratic US senator Doug Jones praised Copeland’s leadership and friendship in a via X, formerly known as Twitter.
“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,” Jones said, referring to tornado in 2019 that killed 23 people in Lee county.
Copeland was also one of few officials who supported local Pride events, as Alabama continues to pass anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, the Associated Press reported.
Chad Peacock, a former resident of Auburn, Alabama, told AP that he believed Alabama’s anti-LGBTQ+ environment played a role in Copeland’s death.
“You have to fit the box. You can be who you are, but you should be ashamed of who you are if you’re different,” Peacock said.
Many have also expressed outrage at details of Copeland’s private life being made public without his consent, and the intense harassment Copeland faced before his death.
DiChiara reached out to Copeland following the 1819 News story and offered support, after people online and from within the community ridiculed him, including spreading false rumors.
“It got very personal. Very vindictive. I’m sure at the time, they didn’t think it would lead to a suicide, but that ended up being the outcome,” DiChiara said.
Other mourners shared similar thoughts.
“He didn’t kill himself, he was killed by the judgment of people who should have been loving and supporting him and trusting his heart,” said a comment on the church’s Facebook page.
Jones also denounced 1819 News in his statement, adding that it was “sad and disgusting” to witness how Copeland was treated by the conservative blog.
“We live in a mean, bitter world where the self-righteous tend to throw the largest stones and the [1819 News] is the perfect example,” Jones said.
The latest incident shines a spotlight on the consequences of revealing personal details about someone’s life.
Sam Lau, a spokesperson for the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, said that “outing” – in which someone’s personal life is revealed without their consent – has consistently endangered individuals, regardless of whether they identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or another related demographic.
“Whether or not a person identifies as a part of the LGBTQ+ community, there is a long history in this country of attempting to out public figures against their will, and it consistently causes harm – forced outing is a direct attempt to endanger the person being outed,” Lau said.
DiChiara emphasized that Smiths Station loved Copeland.
“I can tell you a majority of the people here loved Mayor Copeland and wish he was still here,” DiChiara said.
“They don’t care whether he’s wearing high heels or wearing football cleats. We don’t really care. He was a good man and he certainly didn’t deserve to be bullied till he killed himself,” he said.
The Associated press contributed reporting
In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
