The married Alabama mayor and pastor who killed himself after being outed as having a secret life as a “transgender curvy girl” allegedly used a photo of a local minor to encourage kids to transition.
On one of his secret social media pages, F.L. “Bubba” Copeland allegedly shared the photos of a local boy and his sister to make it appear as if he had transitioned, with the caption, “Take the shots, get implants, become the w–re.”
The post included the boy’s real name, according to 1819 News, the site that first revealed the secret online life of the married dad of three.
A minor was also featured in a post showing Copeland’s “alter ego” — Brittini Blaire Summerlin — undressing, the website reports.
The local pastor also wrote erotic fiction using the names of real women in the small town of Smiths Station — including a local hair stylist who said she was shocked to find both her first and last name used in a graphic story online.
“It was basically describing the way that I look — and intensified, I guess, as a porn star,” the unidentified woman told WTVM.
“And it went into very graphic detail. I didn’t get past the first page because I honestly couldn’t stomach it.”
Ansley Summerlin also said that following Copeland’s death on Friday, friends started sending her “photos that were posted of me on multiple porn sites.”
“He proceeded to use my first and middle names on the sites, and I believe there are about nine stories now that have five or six photos of my face and my name, across the net,” she said.
Copeland posted at least four pieces of transgender erotic fiction — and one story about stealing a local woman’s identity — online, the Daily Mail reported.
In one of these short stories, Copeland — who also owned a local grocery store — wrote about watching women on in-store security cameras and saving the videos for his “private collection,” according to the Mail.
In another long-form story posted under the pseudonym Brittini Blair, the narrator becomes obsessed with a real-life business owner, whom he ultimately murders to assume her identity.
After 1819 News published an article about these posts, the mayor contacted a friend at the local police department, Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones said.
“It was a friend calling a friend,” he explained. “Let’s just say he was concerned about the article. I think ‘upset’ would be a good way of putting it.”
Authorities then conducted a welfare check on the mayor.
Two deputies first went to Copeland’s to find him, and then to a local market he frequented, before ultimately spotting the mayor driving on a county road, officials said.
The deputies then turned on their emergency lights and tried to get Copeland to pull over.
When he ultimately did, Copeland got out of the vehicle and shot himself.
“We had no idea Copeland would die on the spot,” Jones said.
“There were obvious concerns for his welfare, and deputies were attempting to get him to stop, make contact with him, assess the situation, and then take action based on that assessment.”
He added that he does not know what the deputies could have done differently, even as authorities investigate his death.
Copeland, who also served as the pastor at First Baptist Church in nearby Phenix City, had earlier told a friend he had been facing “some tough days.”
But 1819 News editor Jeff Poor is now defending the website’s coverage of Copeland.
“There’s a whole lot more here,” he told Breitbart. “This was clearly a troubled man, and it’s unfortunate that he ended his life.
“But it wasn’t for any of the reasons or any of the stated narrative of the mainstream media,” he claimed.
“He didn’t just write erotic fiction — he wrote erotic slasher fiction where he fantasized about murdering a woman in the local community, and used her real name.”
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.