Alabama Mayor & Pastor Dies By Suicide After A Blog Allegedly Outted Him As A Transgender Woman

It is very important to respect everyone’s preferred pronouns. Because Copeland did not out himself and did not declare he wanted to be referred to as female, I will use the pronouns he/him.

An Alabama community is thunderstruck after the shocking death of a local leader after their involuntary outing as a transgender woman. The Advocate reports that a local conservative news online publication posted pictures of Mayor F.L ‘Bubba’ Copeland displaying his secret gender identity.

Copeland, who served as the pastor of First Baptist Church in Phenix City, died from an apparent suicide. County Sheriff Jay Jones told CBS, “I can confirm he took his own life.”

1819 News blog reported Copeland’s online activities, which exposed his gender identity. The news website revealed that Copeland used the name “Brittani Blaire Summerlin” on Instagram and Reddit. Allegedly, he posted racy pictures dressed in women’s clothing. The news report was devastating to Copeland and contributed to his death.