H. Scott Apley, a GOP official from Texas, who pushed his anti-vaccine and anti-mask views on social media has died of COVID-19.
Apley, 45, a Dickinson City Council memberand State Republican Executive Committee member, died in a local hospital at around 3 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 4. Apley was hospitalized on Aug. 1 with pneumonia-like symptoms and was hooked up to a ventilator as his condition worsened.
His family has now set up a GoFundMe page to help his wife, who also tested positive for COVID-19, raise funds to pay their medical bills and cover funeral costs.
Apley's Social Media Posts
Apley's death came just five days after he posted a meme on Facebook questioning the logic behind getting vaccinated against COVID. Based on his social media activity, it seemed like he was not too concerned about COVID affecting him or his family.
"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," the post read.
In May, Apley shared an invitation for a "mask burning" event at a Cincinnati bar, commenting, " I wish I lived in the area!" A few weeks earlier, he dubbed a news article about incentives being offered to encourage people to get vaccinated "Disgusting." He also voiced his criticism against vaccine passports – documentary proof that an individual is vaccinated against COVID-19.
More recently, he shared a meme mocking Germany's decision to force quarantine violators into refugee camps (a claim that was fact-checked by Snopes).
He also called former Baltimore health commissioner Leana Wen "an absolute enemy of a free people" as she celebrated the news about the Pfizer vaccine's efficacy on Twitter in April.
Apley's death follows the demise of another well-known figure in the Republican party who spread coronavirus conspiracy theories on social media. Linda Zuern, 70, died due to COVID-19 complications last month, as previously reported.
