Alabama preacher kills himself after being labeled a ‘curvy transgender girl’

An Alabama preacher and politician took his own life Friday, two days after being rejected for having a secret life that he shared online as a “curvy transgender girl”.

FL “Bubba” Copeland, who was the mayor of tiny Smiths Station, population just 6,756, as well as the pastor of First Baptist Church in the nearby town of Phenix, shot himself around 5 p.m. afternoon in front of the sheriffs who were following him.

Copeland was a married father of three.

Her suicide occurred after police were asked to do a welfare check and began following her car.

“He got out of the vehicle, pulled out a gun and took his own life,” the sheriff’s office said.

Copeland’s suicide followed an exposé on 1819 News, a news site formerly owned by the conservative think tank, the Alabama Institute of Politicswhich described Copeland’s secret life online as a transgender woman under the pseudonym Brittini Blaire Summerlin.

“Brittini” described herself as a “transgender curvy girl who loves to smile, clothes and shoes!”

One of his social media profiles showed Copeland wearing different women’s clothing, including photos of himself in the bedroom in women’s underwear.

1819 News also reported that Copeland could be seen wearing some of his wife’s clothing in his posts.

Copeland referred to herself as a “thick transgender woman” and encouraged other trans women to pursue hormone replacement therapy.

He also published transgender porn, as well as transgender fiction and erotica that he apparently wrote, according to 1819 News.

Copeland told 1819 News, which published the report on his 62nd birthday, that his online alter ego was a harmless “hobby” that didn’t go beyond his home.

“Only my wife knows,” Copeland said. “It’s a hobby I do to relieve stress. I have a lot of stress and I am not in medical transition. It’s just a character I play. … I don’t go out looking for an application or anything like that.”

“What I do in private life has nothing to do with what I do in my holy life,” Copeland told 1819 reporter Craig Monger. “Does this have any effect on being mayor, that sometimes I wear a dress or sometimes I put on make-up? Does this have anything to do with me being mayor or pastor?”

He appeared to make his exit quietly after the exposé was published on Wednesday.

That night, delivered his usual sermon at the First Baptist Church of Phenix City and briefly addressed the scandal.

“I’ve come under attack on the Internet,” Copeland said. “An article that was written about my capacity as mayor [and] capacity as a shepherd. The article is not who or what I am.

He played down the material online, calling it an “attempt at humor”.

“Yes, I have taken pictures with my wife in the privacy of our home in an attempt at humor because I know I am neither a handsome man nor a beautiful woman,” Copeland continued. “I apologize for any embarrassment caused by my private and personal life that has come publicly.”

A March interview that Copeland did with Columbus, Georgia’s WRBL was both poignant and eerily foreshadowing of his own destiny.

“I always say, ‘We’re Mayberry 2023,'” he said of Smiths Station. “It’s really like everybody knows your name. You know, everybody dies famous in a small town. This is what it is. It’s Friday night lights. It’s mom’s apple pie. Our community has very, very little crime, very low drug use. Our number one problem is suicide. It’s sad I think it has a lot to do with the military. I think part of it has to do with social media and the reality of it. That’s the number one problem we have.”

In 2019, Copeland led the city’s recovery after a horrific March tornado with winds of up to 170 mph struck the nearby town of Beauregard, killing 23.

Copeland met with then-President Donald Trump at the time, who had come to observe the storm’s devastating aftermath.

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free, confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can call the 24/7 suicide prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.