Alabama town grieves mayor who killed himself after far-right blog outed him

1819 News published images of FL ‘Bubba’ Copeland of Smiths Station dressing as a woman in addition to his erotic fiction

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.

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