F.L. “Bubba” Copeland was the duly elected mayor of Smiths Station, a town in Lee County, Alabama. It is part of the neighboring Columbus, Ga., metropolitan area.
Copeland was also pastor of the First Baptist Church of Phenix City, which sits across the Chattahoochee River from Columbus.
By all accounts “Bubba,” as he was known in this small town of 6,756, was very popular, respected and beloved but early Nov.
3 he died by suicide after a far-right publication published photos and a story detailing the pastor-mayor’s private and secret life.