Alabama Mayor Kills Themself After Being Outed As Transgender

An Alabama city mayor, who also served as a community pastor and owned a local grocery store, committed suicide after being outed as a transgender woman by a conservative news blog that posted photos of them embracing their secret gender identity, Christopher Wiggins reports for The Advocate.

Alabama news blog 1819 News reported Wednesday that Smiths Station Mayor F.L. “Bubba” Copeland had been engaging in explicit online activities, allegedly posting pornography, memes, and photos of themself in women’s clothing online under the pseudonym “Brittini Blaire Summerlin.” Copeland discussed hormone replacement therapy in some of their online posts as well. The report incited a public and community-wide controversy in which Copeland was often ridiculed and shamed. Copeland died Friday evening when police pulled them over in response to a request for a welfare check. After being pulled over, Copeland stopped, exited their truck, and fatally shot themself. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the Lee County District Attorney’s Office are currently investigating the death.