Texas GOP Official Who Mocked COVID Dies From COVID

H. Scott Apley, 45, regularly filled his Facebook page with anti-mask, anti-vaccine memes. Then he caught COVID. Hospitalized on Sunday, he died on Wednesday.
By Ed Scarce — August 5, 2021

Scott Apley, 45, was a city councilman from Dickinson, Texas. He thought COVID was a hoax, that the pandemic was overblown, and masks and vaccines were just a means for government intrusion and control. He regularly posted all sorts of hateful memes downplaying the severity of the pandemic. In May, he sent out invitations to a mask burning. He posted that mask mandates were akin to Nazism. A week before his death, he reposted a meme on Facebook: “In 6 months, we’ve gone from the vax ending the pandemic—to you can still get covid even if vaxxed—to you can pass covid onto others even if vaxxed—to you can still die of covid even if vaxxed—to the unvaxxed are killing the vaxxed.”

On Sunday, he was rushed to the hospital and was put on a ventilator almost immediately. He was in bad shape and apparently had already waited too long to go to hospital. Yesterday, he succumbed to what he was sure was a hoax.

Source: Daily Beast

A GOP official from Texas who regularly espoused anti-vaccine and anti-mask views online has died from COVID-19, five days after posting a meme on Facebook questioning the wisdom of getting inoculated against COVID.

Dickinson City Council member and State Republican Executive Committee member H. Scott Apley, 45, died in a local hospital around 3 a.m. Wednesday morning, according to a GoFundMe page set up to help Apley’s family with expenses. He was admitted to the facility in Galveston on Sunday with “pneumonia-like symptoms,” and was hooked up to a ventilator as his condition worsened. His wife was also infected, the family said.

“He leaves behind his wife, Melissa, who is COVID positive, as well as their infant son Reid,” according to the fundraiser, which has so far raised almost $15,000 of its $30,000 goal. “Your donations are greatly appreciated and will help the family as they get through this difficult period.”

Normally, I try not to say anything too negative about these anti-vaxxers but this one was a real asshole. Not only did he infect his entire family, but he also leaves behind his wife with a five-month-old baby to care for.

Here's part of what Chris Hayes said about him last night on MSNBC.

Scott Apley was the kind of person who makes up the backbone of state political parties across the country. You can find them in any state. He was a city council member in Dickinson, Texas. That`s his state. An official in the Galveston Republican Party, he was active in local conservative politics and on Twitter where he frequently posted Bible verses and engaged in right-wing causes.

Back in April, Dr. Leanna Wen posted a benign tweet about the vaccine, Apley told her in response, "You`re an absolute enemy of a free people telling her to shove the carrot where the sun don`t shine." On Sunday, Scott Apley was admitted to the hospital and he was diagnosed with COVID. He succumbed to the disease early this morning. He was 45 years old. He leaves behind a wife and an infant son.

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