By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on November 29, 2023 An Editorial Opinion After an extensive journalistic investigation that examined voluminous public records and spanned five states, this is what I believe happened in Mayor Fred “Bubba” Copeland’s homicide case, and why: Kenneth Bryan Dawson: A Demonic Figure Cloaked in Old Testament Bible Verses Nine days before he gave final approval to 1819 News’ November 1, 2023, “hit job” on Bubba Copeland, Kenneth Bryan Dawson gave a fiery sermon at the Reformation Baptist Church in Wetumpka, Alabama in which he railed against ministers who abuse their authority within the church by engaging in “ministerial covetousness, sensuality, and imperiousness.” In Dawson's view, nothing brought a greater reproach to religion than this kind of ministerial abuse of power.  Dawson saw this ministerial conduct as “rubbish and refuse” that must be disposed of. The “rod of correction” demands that this kind of ministerial abuse of power within the church be punishable by death because it offends God, said Kenneth Bryan Dawson. “Church discipline,” as Dawson calls it, must be administered in front of everybody to instill the fear of God in all men, women, and children.  The refusal to exercise this measure of church disciple is cowardice. Interestingly, these words of self-righteous condemnation came out of the mouth of a career criminal who escaped a life sentence without the possibility of parole.  After all, Kenneth Bryan Dawson would have been doomed by Colorado's "Three Strikes and Your're Out" law in felony cases. Dawson’s extensive criminal court and prison records and various interviews with those who know him paint the profile of a man who was very violent and dangerous on the streets and in prison.  Dawson literally traded stolen vehicles to Mexican drug cartel members in exchange for cocaine that he trafficked throughout Colorado and elsewhere.  Additionally, Dawson nearly beat a police informant to death for "snitching" on him. In prison, Dawson says he found God and experienced a proverbial “Saul to Paul conversion on the road to Damascus.”  Dawson claims he “repented” for his sins. However, there is no public record of remorse where Kenneth Bryan Dawson publicly apologized to the thousands of individuals who became his crime victims, including minors who bought and used the cocaine and other illegal and illicit drugs he sold to them and whose lives were forever ruined by him. Bubba Copeland: A Popular Mayor with a Fetish for Cross-Dressing and Erotic Fiction Bubba Copeland was the mayor of Smiths Station, a small town in Lee County, Alabama.  Copeland was also a successful local businessman and the pastor of First Baptist Church of Phenix City, Alabama.  He was a beloved figure in his community. Copeland was married to Angela Simpson Copeland. The couple were parents to a son, Carter L. Copeland (by a prior marriage), and two daughters, AbbyKate Elizabeth Dawson and Ally Catherine Dawson (no relationship to Kenneth Bryan Dawson). Copeland was also a cross-dresser (in the privacy of his home) and writer of erotic fiction.  His fiction was not published on a commercial basis, nor circulated in public forums. They did not rise to the legal definition of pornography or obscene material. Bubba Copeland worked hard to unify his community and he received awards for doing so.  He never stopped working to better the lives of the residents of Smiths Station. Unlike Kenneth Bryan Dawson, Bubba Copeland never committed any crime against any person at any time. In Kenneth Bryan Dawson’s eyes, Bubba Copeland epitomized the “evil” in his church and community that Dawson abhorred because Copeland was a cross-dresser and author of erotic fiction who embraced and supported ALL of the residents of Smiths Station and all members of his Phenix City church, regardless of their political beliefs, race, sexual orientation, gender identification, or socio-economic status. Everybody was welcomed in Bubba Copeland’s home, business, church, community, and City Hall.  He did not pick and choose who he would help and who would be forsaken.  Bubba Copeland helped everybody and condemned no one. Dawson Served the Federal Law Enforcement Establishment Almost as Much as He Did His Church A review of Kenneth Bryan Dawson’s court and prison records is revealing.  He is a convicted cocaine trafficker, serial thief, and attempted murderer who, at one time, faced a possible 384 years in prison. Using a court appointed attorney, Dawson was able to plead guilty to a few state criminal offenses and reduce his prison sentences to 4 and 12 years, respectively. Dawson also obtained time-served credits against these sentences for the time he spent in county jails during pretrial and post-trial lockups. Considering the severity of Dawson's criminal record and the countless victims -- men, women, and children -- whose lives were ruined by his drug dealing, this plea deal was unheard of. The felonious conduct for which Dawson was convicted in state court also gave rise to a multitude of federal criminal offenses, including: (a) RICO conspiracy, (b) drug trafficking, (c) VICAR attempted murder, (d) interstate motor vehicle theft, (e) interstate travel in aid of racketeering, (f) witness tampering, and (g) retaliation against witnesses.  Yet, Dawson was never charged with any of these federal offenses. Only one pathway existed for Kenneth Bryan Dawson to escape federal criminal liability for his racketeering offenses, drug trafficking activities, and violent crimes.  Dawson agreed to plead guilty to state charges and become a controlled federal operative, or informant, for the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Once he was inside the Colorado prison system, Kenneth Bryan Dawson embedded himself within the “white car” or white supremacy group of inmates.  This move afforded Dawson inmate protection from possible retaliation by Mexican drug offenders in the same prisons who knew about Dawson from the “streets” and suspected that he was an informant for the DEA and FBI. Dawson’s prison records also document the special treatment he received within the Colorado prison system. Even when Dawson engaged in episodes of violence against other inmates, his punitive time in the “Hole” was minimal. Dawson was constantly moved around within the Colorado prison system to (a) minimize the chances that his informant status would be exposed and (b) prevent his death by those he betrayed in the drug cartel.   Inmate “hit jobs” in prison are a routine occurrence. Kenneth Bryan Dawson was released from prison early and relocated to a rural part of Alabama that had virtually no Mexican American or Spanish-speaking population.  In Alabama, Dawson dropped his first name and used the alias “Bryan Dawson” to obscure his true identity. A similarly situated prisoner with Dawson’s record as a career criminal, who was NOT a federal law enforcement informant, would still be in prison today, whether he experienced a “Saul to Paul” conversion or not. Dawson had no known ties to the state of Alabama other than a prison romance he developed with a girlfriend from Alabama.   He later married his girlfriend.  Together, they have seven children. Dawson Has Been Platformed, Used, and Protected Once he relocated to Alabama, Kenneth Bryan Dawson wasted no time in using his intellectual acumen, Bible-spewing background, and “From Breaking Bad to Redemption” story to hook up with Birmingham-based politico Caleb Crosby and his network of supporters within the Alabama Policy Institute (API). The Caleb Crosby hookup provided Dawson with financial access to real estate magnate and former gubernatorial candidate Lynda Blanchard, wealthy Wellborn Cabinet owner and CEO Paul Wellborn, and other right-wing Christian nationalist/financial oligarchs in Alabama. For whatever reason, Caleb Crosby and these wealthy oligarchs found comfort and solace in their association with Dawson, despite his violent, drug trafficking past. API and its supporters have an unexplained affinity for Dawson and have become his enablers. Crosby and company birthed Dawson’s 1819 News operation in 2021 with $1,077,500 that was funneled from API to a wholly owned affiliate named 1819 Media, LLC, in a highly questionable "Trojan Horse" deal.  The technique API used to create 1819 Media was akin to money laundering, especially since the primary beneficiary of the $1,077,500 was Kenneth Bryan Dawson. Dawson never registered with the Alabama Attorney General's office as a recipient of these API funds or a solicitor of contributions, as required by Alabama laws governing charitable oganizations operating in the state of Alabama that received more than $25,000 in contributions. Once 1819 Media was birthed, Kenneth Bryan Dawson was designated as the president, CEO, and publisher of 1819 News. For two years, 1819 News has functioned as the news media/propaganda wing of API.  Today, 1819 News is regarded as API’s regrettable “Frankenstein.” In exchange for a host of favorable articles on Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, Kenneth Dawson gets a pass on state law enforcement inquiries into his past criminal record and regulatory scrutiny of his current media activities. In Alabama political and news circles, Marshall is a generally regarded as an impotent "media whore." Dawson, who has no college degree in electronic multimedia or journalism, nor prior experience as a journalist, characterizes his 1819 News job as, “throwing rocks for a living.” Even Dawson's metaphor for his relatively new profession is violent. The dossier on Bubba Copeland’s cross-dressing fetish and erotic works of fiction was reportedly furnished to 1819 News by a source within the federal law enforcement community.  The information was gathered as part of a law enforcement investigation into certain Internet uses in the digital universe.  It was ultimately determined that Bubba Copeland violated no federal or state laws in the matters under investigation. In violation of federal statutes and U.S. Department of Justice policy guidelines on the use of electronic surveillance, the information gathered during the course of this federal investigation regarding Copeland was surrepititiously provided to 1819 News, on an unofficial and unauthorized basis, for the sole purpose of “outing,” embarrassing, and humiliating Bubba Copeland. Because Copeland had violated no federal or state laws with his cross-dressing fetish and other personal conduct, there was no legitimate law enforcement use for this sensitive information. It should have been sealed and archived within the law enforcement agencies working on the task force that gathered this material. 1819 News used the dossier on Bubba Copeland as the primary source for its November 1, 2023, “hit job” on this popular mayor, respected businessman, unifying pastor, and beloved family man.  They “outed” Copeland with glee and pleasure, as an accommodation to Dawson’s federal law enforcement handlers. The speed at which 1819 News carried out its premeditated “hit job” on Copeland made no sense to those who engage in the business of news gathering, fact-checking, and publishing on a daily basis. 1819 News claimed that it learned of Bubba Copeland’s cross-dressing and erotic fiction activities on October 31, 2023, and they reported the story the next day. 1819 News did not report to law enforcement officials what they claimed was Bubba Copeland’s improper conduct toward minors prior to publishing their November 1st article. This failure of duty by 1819 News adds credence to the reports we received from our news sources that the sensitive and inflammatory information on Copeland was supplied to 1819 News by a law enforcement source Dawson trusted. A Modern-Day Form of COINTELPRO Lives On The premeditated “hit job” on Bubba Copeland was a vigilante move by a federal law enforcement community that has engaged in this kind of lawlessness before – many times.  This kind of unlawful conduct formed the core of the FBI’s formal and secretive COINTELPRO program from 1956 to 1971. After the FBI’s centralized COINTELPRO program was exposed by activists and members of Congress in 1972, the FBI disbanded it.  However, COINTELPRO activities continued on an ad hoc and unauthorized basis in Deep South states like Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia with little to no Department of Justice (DOJ) oversight. One of the five main components of COINTELPRO was undermining public opinion about the targeted persons or organizations.   The FBI typically discredited and/or destroyed a targeted person’s reputations in the community and denied them a platform to gain legitimacy. Furthermore, the Bureau created, distributed, and controlled the distribution of negative media content that was meant to embarrass and humiliate COINTELPRO targets. In Alabama, friendly media sources were recruited, groomed, and supplied with FBI generated negative stories about the designated COINTEPRO targets. They eagerly smeared these targets. Participating news organizations in Alabama included the Birmingham News, the Birmingham Post Herald, the Tuscaloosa News, the Montgomery Advertiser, and Mobile Press Register, none of which have publicly acknowledged its historical role as an unpaid participant in the official or ad hoc COINTEPRO program. Today, AL.com has two well-known, FBI-friendly, COINTELPRO participants in its midst. 1819 News has Kenneth Bryan Dawson operating in its COINTELPRO role. The COINTELPRO program succeeded in forcing Hollywood actress Jean Seberg to commit suicide in 1979. The FBI created a false story in 1970 stating that Seberg, who was white and married, conceived her baby with a member of the Black Panther Party. This fake story was circulated to friendly media sources. The trauma from the publication of this false story caused Seberg to experience a miscarriage. The FBI's COINTELPRO operations took a heavy emotional and psychological toll on Seberg. She repeatedly attempted suicide on the anniversary of the child's death. In August 1979, Seberg succeeded in killing herself. The COINTELPRO program failed to pressure Dr. Martin Luther King into committing suicide in 1964. A modern-day version of COINTELPRO succeeded in forcing Bubba Copeland to commit suicide on November 3rd. To date, a more sophisticated, multi-state version of COINTELPRO has failed to pressure former president Donald J. Trump into committing suicide, even though Trump is facing the most aggressive use of COINTELPRO tactics in the history of the DOJ/FBI program. Epilogue The culprits who are involved in Bubba Copeland’s "homicide by suicide" case almost pulled off this COINTELPRO-style "hit job" with their trusted media operative, Kenneth Bryan Dawson, without being exposed by today's FBI-friendly legacy media in Alabama and without adverse consequences to them -- thus far. The premeditated "hit job" by Kenneth Bryan Dawson and 1819 News targeted Bubba Copeland because of his cross-dressing fetish or gender identification. This homicide qualifies as a federal hate crime under 18 U.S.C. § 249 that resulted in Bubba Copeland's death. This "hit job" also rises to the level of premeditated murder under Alabama state criminal statutes. This is my informed journalistic opinion about what happened to Bubba Copeland, and why!  All other alternative explanations for Bubba Copeland’s homicide lack credibility and have no adequate basis in fact to support them. *********************** [ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mr. Watkins is a well-recognized investigative journalist who has decades of experience in uncovering "cover-ups."  He was the “lead defense attorney” in the 2005 landmark $2.7 billion Sarbanes-Oxley accounting fraud case against former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy.  In 2003, Scrushy was indicted on 85 felony counts and faced 650 years in prison.  Scrushy maintained his innocence against these charges. After extensive and successful pretrial motions and a six-month trial in 2005, Scrushy defeated federal prosecutors on all 85 counts.  The July 25, 2005, edition of Fortune Magazine profiled the case in a feature article titled, “Donald Watkins: The Man Who Saved Richard Scrushy.”  Mr. Watkins was labeled the “real legal mastermind of the case” in a front page article in the February 2, 2005, edition of the Wall Street Journal.  On October 1, 2006, Texas A&M University, Texas Wesleyan Law Review published an article by Walter "Trey" Stock titled, “United States v. Scrushy and Its Impact on Criminal Prosecutions Under the Certification Requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley " that featured Mr. Watkins creative and successful criminal defense work in Richard Scrushy's case.   In May 2020, Netflix featured Watkins’ work in the Scrushy case in the documentary series, “Trial by Media; Episode #4 “King Richard”.]

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on November 27, 2023 An Editorial Opinion It was there all along.  A key fact that was hiding in plain sight. I casually mentioned it in one of my early articles on the “hit job” 1819 News carried out on Fred “Bubba” Copeland, the small-town mayor of Smiths Station, Alabama. The speed at which 1819 News carried out this “hit job” made no sense from a news gathering, fact-checking, and reporting standpoint.  1819 News learned of Bubba Copeland’s cross-dressing activities (in the privacy of his home) and works of erotic fiction on October 31, 2023, and published its "hit piece" on Copeland the next day. 1819 News did not report this information to law enforcement officials before publishing the article, even though they later claimed that Copeland might have been victimizing unsuspecting women and children. There had to be more to this bizarre story – and there was.  Much more! Time, patience, a lot of digging in five states and two countries, and over 40 years of experience in uncovering “cover-ups” allowed me to finally assemble all of the pieces needed to solve this puzzle.  The last piece fell into place Sunday night. The “hit job” on Bubba Copeland was a vigilante move by people who have surreptitiously done this kind of thing before – many times.  1819 News was the selected conduit for the Copeland “hit job” because Kenneth Bryan Dawson is a longtime controlled operative. They almost pulled off the Copeland “hit job” without being exposed and without suffering any adverse consequences to themselves. The “Archilles heel” in this diabolical scheme has always been Kenneth Bryan Dawson, the chosen "hitman."  Dawson's career criminal history and voluminous prison records provided a “gold mine” of information that eventually helped me solve this “whodunit” homicide. These documents also aided me in identifying the people who furnished 1819 News with the information it needed to “out” Bubba Copeland and force him to commit suicide. Stay tuned for a blockbuster ending to the "whodunit" of who killed Bubba Copeland, and why!

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyright and Published on November 23, 2023; Updated November 24, 2024 An Editorial Opinion -- Special Thanksgiving Day Edition On June 1, 2021, the Alabama Policy Institute (API) and Kenneth Bryan Dawson worked together to form a non-profit named 1819 Media, LLC.   In October 2021, Dawson launched a conservative multimedia news company named 1819 News. Dawson had no prior experience in journalism. In 2008, Dawson earned a GED in the Colorado state prison system. While incarcerated, Dawson earned college credits at Northeastern Junior College (Sterling, Colorado) for English Composition and Abnormal Psychology. In total, Dawson completed 46 hours of college credits towards a junior college degree. Despite Dawson's anemic qualifications in the field of journalism, API funneled $1,077,500 to 1819 Media to set up Kenneth Bryan Dawson as the founder, president, chief executive officer, and publisher of 1819 News. Today, 1819 News functions as the API’s propaganda arm for “providing news and commentary on primarily statewide policy and legislative activity in a multimedia range of formats (such as talk radio, podcasts, vodcasts, and written news), and offering principled analysis on the topics of the day.” . The $1,077,500 funneled to 1819 Media represented more than half of the $2,002,820 API reported in contributions on its Federal Form 990 tax return for 2021. API’s Form 990 for 2022 was due on May 15, 2023. The organization was entitled to an automatic 6-month extension by the Internal Revenue Service, if requested.  The new due date should have been November 15, 2023. As of today's date, API’s Form 990 tax return for 2022 is not publicly available. A “Trojan Horse” Approach to Alabama Registration Requirements for Non-Profit Organizations That Solicit Money API prides itself on promoting transparency in government.  Yet, API's own business practices are shrouded in secrecy, deception and obfuscation. The maneuvers employed for API's OWN gain screen out the very sunlight the organization seeks to shine upon EVERY OTHER state of Alabama government agency and all other entities working or operating within the borders of this state that they claim to want to protect. At the time of its transfer of $1,077,500 to 1819 Media, API was a non-profit organization that was duly registered with the Alabama Attorney General’s office. 1819 Media was an unregistered non-profit affiliate. Instead of registering 1819 Media with the Attorney General in its own name, API chose to list 1819 Media as a “Related Organization” on the Institute's Form 990, Schedule R, tax return for 2021.  API claimed in Part III(30) of the tax return that it owned 100% of 1819 Media. By listing 1819 Media as a “Related Organization,” API effectively aided and abetted Kenneth Bryan Dawson in keeping his status as a career criminal under the radar of a state regulatory agency.  This maneuver is called a “Trojan Horse” approach to state law registration requirements. In addition to co-founding 1819 Media with API and serving as 1819 News' top executive, Kenneth Bryan Dawson is a convicted cocaine trafficker, serial thief of motorcycles and ATVs, and attempted murderer.  Dawson literally traded these stolen vehicles to Mexican drug cartel members in exchange for cocaine that he trafficked throughout Colorado and elsewhere.  Additionally, Dawson nearly beat a police informant to death for "snitching" on him. Dawson's career criminal status and lack of journalism credentials did not matter to API because Dawson used the knowledge, skills, and abilities he picked up in his prison's Abnormal Pyschology classes to become API's bosom buddy. Dawson also sold API on his proverbial "Saul to Paul conversion on the road to Damascus." API bought into Kenneth Bryan Dawson and his "From Breaking Bad to Redemption" story -- hook, line, and sinker. API's "Trojan Horse" maneuver with and for Dawson impeded the ability of law enforcement authorities, such as the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and the Alabama Department of Public Safety; business regulatory agencies, such as the State of Alabama Attorney General's Office Public Corruption Division and the Consumer Protection Division; The State of Alabama Department of Finance and the State Comptroller's Office to monitor API and 1819 Media for the purpose of determining if a convicted career criminal (i.e., Kenneth Bryan Dawson) was soliciting money from the public for API and/or 1819 Media in Alabama [or received any funding from any State agencies during or after the COVID Pandemic when the State of Alabama began looking for Grantees for surplus Federal COVID Funds]. API Aided and Abetted Dawson in Evading Detection by Law Enforcement Authorities Section 13A-9-70 through 13A-9-84 of the Code of Alabama requires any non-exempt charitable organization that solicited contributions of $25,000 or more IN OR FROM ALABAMA to register with the Attorney General’s Office and file an annual financial statement with the state. API complied with this law.  The “Related Organization” listing for 1819 Media on API’s Form 990 spared 1819 Media from complying with these mandatory requirements in its own name in 2021 and 2022. This "Trojan Horse" approach to registration was a calculated “cloak and dagger” legal maneuver by API, 1819 Media, and Dawson because Alabama accepts the Unified Registration Statement for non-profit organizations.  Question 14(B) on the form asks: “Have any of the organization’s officers, directors, or principal executives been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony? (If yes, attach a complete explanation.).” By executing this legal maneuver, API, 1819 Media, and Dawson made sure that Dawson’s career criminal status was never formally disclosed to the Alabama Attorney General’s office. This way, API, 1819 Media, 1819 News, and Dawson were able to act in concert with each other to solicit donations from members of the public to disseminate API-generated propaganda/news from June 2021 through December 31, 2022. 1819 News' Bubba Copeland Article Blew the Lid off the Unholy Alliance Between API and Kenneth Bryan Dawson As stated earlier, 1819 News functions today as the multimedia platform and propaganda wing of the Alabama Policy Institute.  Kenneth Bryan Dawson is API’s digital media darling and right-wing propaganda guru. Last week, API felt the urgent need to issue a statement proclaiming that 1819 News and API formally separated on December 31, 2022. “There is no legal, editorial, or financial affiliation between the two entities,” said API. This announcement was prompted by the firestorm of controversy engulfing Kenneth Bryan Dawson and 1819 News in the aftermath of its November 1, 2023, article that “outed” Smiths Station, Alabama Mayor Fred “Bubba” Copeland’s cross-dressing (in his home) and his James Patterson-style works of erotic fiction.  An embarrassed and emotionally distraught Copeland responded to this 1819 News article by killing himself two days later. Media organizations around the state and across the nation condemned 1819 News’ November 1st article on Copeland as a media “hit job” with deadly consequences. API’s board of directors knew, or reasonably should have known, that the Institute had climbed in bed with a dangerous career criminal when API voted to transfer $1,077,500 to 1819 Media for Dawson's use in 2021.  Dawson had $590,251 left over at the end of 2021. The $1,077,500 transferred to 1819 Media was more than half of the money API raised in 2021. In Part VI(A)(5) of API’s 2021 tax return, the non-profit claimed that it did not “become aware during the year of a significant diversion of the organization’s assets.” This response does not jive with the fact that API declared $405,177 in Part III(4)(b) for “expenses” related to its described "news media services" and funneled $1,077,500 to 1819 Media for “media” activities, as well. In all, three-fourths of API's money for 2021 was channeled into media activities, with Kenneth Bryan Dawson getting the lion's share of this money. On December 9, 2022, Bryan Dawson incorporated 1819 News, LLC, as a “for-profit” limited liability company. Having birthed 1819 News and having sucessfully platformed Dawson, API dissolved 1819 Media on May 11, 2023. 1819 News Showered API-Affiliated Mega-Donors and Chosen Political Allies with Favorable Media Coverage API’s mega-donors contributed over $2 million to the non-profit in 2021.  These donors reportedly included Lynda Blanchard, John Blanchard, Paul Wellborn, and various individuals and entities closely affiliated with them. Lynda Blanchard and her husband John D. Blanchard manage residential apartment complexes and other real estate holdings in Alabama.  Lynda Blanchard served as Ambassador to Slovenia under President Donald Trump.  In 2022, Blanchard ran against Alabama Governor Kay Ivey in the Republican Primary for governor and lost. The Blanchard family of individual and corporate contributions to API reportedly exceeded $250,000 from 2021 to 2022.  In Lynda Blanchard’s case, her tax deductible contributions to API were pooled with other donations to funnel $1,077,500 to 1819 Media. This money garnered Lynda Blanchard 29 favorable news stories in 1819 News during the gubernatorial campaign season. Paul Wellborn owns and operates Wellborn Cabinet and related family-owned businesses. The Wellborn family of individual and corporate contributions to API reportedly exceeded $250,000 from 2021 to 2022.  Wellborn and his businesses have received favorable coverage in 1819 News on multiple occasions. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is the state official who is charged with the responsibility for overseeing compliance with the registration and reporting requirements from non-profits in Alabama. 1819 News has published 32 favorable articles on Marshall since 2021. The articles have gone a long way toward buying Kenneth Bryan Dawson safe passage in Alabama. Marshall, who was originally appointed to the Attorney General’s post by disgraced former governor Robert Bentley, has never been known for prosecuting hardcore drug dealers and street criminals. Every move Marshall makes is calculated to give him a strategic advantage for his next campaign for statewide office.  As such, Marshall is regarded as one of the least effective Attorneys General in Alabama history. The Ties That Bind Dawson to API Based upon our examination of the public record, Kenneth Bryan Dawson has NEVER: (a) expressed any contrition for his crimes; (b) expressed any remorse or regret for his actions toward these crime victims and their families; and (c) issued a public apology for the hundreds, if not thousands of lives he destroyed by supplying illegal and illicit drugs to vulnerable people and communities, not to mention children. Eventually, Dawson was able to "Cage his Rage" enough to exit prison early. He successfully completed the prison's Anger Management class and maintained a 4.0 GPA in his prison-sponsored junior college courses. All of the key ingredients Kenneth Bryan Dawson needed to successfully hustle API and 1819 Media were in place. As for API and its financial sponsors, they apparently needed the "redemption" story Dawson sold to them and craved the favorable media attention he showered upon them. These are the ties that bind API, 1819 News, Kenneth Bryan Dawson, and their mega-donors together. To this cabal of morality police, Bubba Copeland was merely "road kill" as they sped toward an ultra-conservative, pro-family, free markets, and limited government policy-making destination. Copeland's grieving family apparently did not matter to the crowd at API and 1819 News. Neither did the families of Dawsons crime victims. True to his past, Kenneth Bryan Dawson has NOT apologized to the Copeland family for causing Bubba Copeland's death. To me, Bubba Copeland was a kind and decent, but somewhat complicated human being. Yet, there was no justifable reason for Kenneth Bryan Dawson and his 1819 News team to force Copeland's suicide. Copeland's death is a straight-forward case of "journalistic homicide." As such, a full-scale criminal investigation is warranted into Bubba Copeland's death, but it cannot be led by Attorney General Steve Marshall. He has an obvious conflict of interest in this probe. Bubba Copeland will NOT be with his family this Thanksgiving Day! The least we can do on this special day is make sure the full story of Copeland's tragic death is told in his absence.

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on November 19, 2023; Updated November 20, 2023 In 2021, the conservative Alabama Policy Institute gave convicted cocaine trafficker, serial thief, and attempted murderer Kenneth Bryan Dawson $1,077,500 to launch 1819 News as API’s digital media arm. Today, Dawson, 39, serves as 1819 News' president, CEO, and publisher. On its website, API says 1819 News and API formally separated on December 31, 2022, and that there is "no legal, editorial, or financial affiliation between the two entities.” Nobody claims that Kenneth Bryan Dawson returned the $1,077,500 he received to API as part of this "legal, editorial, or financial" disassociation. In fact, the evidence suggests that Dawson kept the money and continues to work hand-in-hand with API to promote its conservative agenda in the state. Dawson’s extensive criminal court and prison records paint the profile of a man who was a very violent and dangerous career criminal. He literally traded stolen vehicles to Mexican drug cartels in exchange for cocaine that he trafficked throughout Colorado and elsewhere. Additionally, Dawson nearly beat a police informant to death for "snitching" on him. Based upon our examination of the public record, Kenneth Bryan Dawson has never expressed contrition for his crimes. NOR has Dawson ever expressed ANY remorse or regret for his actions toward these crime victims and their families. NOR has Dawson issued a public apology for the hundreds, if not thousands of lives he destroyed by supplying illegal and illicit drugs to vulnerable people and communities, not to mention children. In prison, Dawson found God. He claims to have experienced a proverbial "Saul to Paul conversion on the road to Damacus." Acts 9:1-22. Dawson’s prison records explain, in part, how he got out of prison early and why he wound up in Alabama. However, nobody has ever explained why a powerful Alabama-based conservative think tank like API would pump $1,077,500 into empowering a man with Kenneth Bryan Dawson's background and continues to associate with him today on driving political policy in Alabama. In 2022, another $1 million or more reportedly flowed to Dawson’s 1819 News, via “dark money” contributions from less conspicuous mega-donors in Alabama. We know who they are. On November 1, 2023, Dawson’s 1819 News executed a media "hit job" that “outed” Smiths Station, Alabama mayor Fred “Bubba” Copeland’s cross-dressing (in his home) and his James Patterson-style works of erotic fiction.  An embarrassed and emotionally distraught Copeland responded to this 1819 News article by killing himself two days later. To date, Kenneth Bryan Dawson has expressed no remorse or apology for his role in Bubba Copeland's death. This suicide is now the subject of a homicide investigation by the Lee County, Alabama Sheriff's and District Attorney's offices. After weeks of investigation, our news team has finally discovered the real ties that bind the power-players at API to Kenneth Bryan Dawson. API literally passed over thousands of convicted cocaine traffickers, serial thieves, attempted murderers, and so-called "Saul to Paul" converts, inside and outside of Alabama, to adopt Kenneth Bryan Dawson as its financially-sponsored media "hit man." Why? We will deliver the surprising answer to this $1,077,500 question in an exclusive investigative report on Thanksgiving Day. It's a stunner! Stay tuned!

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on November 17, 2023 On October 17, 2023, the Epoch Times published an enlightening article on crime in America. Reporter Joe Gomez added an additional factor in his analysis of the crime statistics – the political party affiliation of the mayors who lead the cities on two violent crime lists. Gomez’s article was updated on November 2, 2023.  I have summarized the highlights from his updated article here. The crime statistics and charts in Gomez's article speak for themselves. They paint a grim but realistic picture of violent crime in these cities. Two separate analyses of FBI crime data reveal the 15 American cities that have the most violent crime and spend the most on crime-related costs. NeighborhoodScout and MoneyGeek used different methodologies to gauge the most violent and costliest crime cities, although five of the cities ended up on both lists. NeighborhoodScout’s report is based on the number of violent crimes per 1,000 residents in cities with 25,000 or more people.  The data are based on the most recent number of violent crimes reported to the FBI in each city, projections of violent crime rates based on prior years’ data, and the population of each city, according to the company. MoneyGeek analyzed the most recent crime statistics from the FBI to estimate the societal cost of crime per resident in 263 cities that have populations greater than 100,000. NeighborhoodScout says it matches crime incident data from "all 18,000+ local law enforcement agencies in the U.S. to the specific local communities the agency covers, and hence in which community the crimes have occurred." The organization considers homicide, rape, armed robbery, and aggravated assault as violent crimes. Looting, as depicted in the photo below, is also considered a violent crime. NeighborhoodScout's most dangerous city in America is Bessemer, Alabama, with a violent crime rate of 33.1 crimes per 1,000 residents.  Bessemer is a suburb of Birmingham, which comes up sixth on this list and second on MoneyGeek's "cost of crime" top 10 list. NeighborhoodScout lists Monroe, Louisiana, as its second most dangerous city, with a rate of 26.3 violent crimes per 1,000 residents. Monroe sits halfway between Shreveport, Louisiana, and Jackson, Mississippi. In third place is Saginaw, Michigan, with a violent crime rate of 25.1 per 1,000 residents. Saginaw is about 100 miles northwest of Detroit. Rounding out the top 10 are Memphis, Tennessee; Detroit; Birmingham, Alabama; Pine Bluff, Arkansas; Little Rock, Arkansas; Alexandria, Louisiana; and Cleveland. Several mayoral races in the above cities are run as nonpartisan elections, which means all candidates are in one pool for voters. However, all but one of the cities are run by mayors who are either Democrats or are affiliated with the Democratic Party. The lone exception is Monroe, Louisiana, whose mayor, Friday Ellis, is a Republican-turned-independent. Cost of Crime Top 10 MoneyGeek's data measure the cost of crime per capita in cities of 100,000 or more. It doesn't drill down to cities as small as NeighborhoodScout (25,000) but ends up with a very similar list and five exact matches. “Crime and safety are intertwined with prosperity, income, and economic opportunity. Crime is costly to individual victims, perpetrators, communities, and society at large,” the finance company posted on its website. Overall, MoneyGeek calculated the cost of crime in 2021 was $1,836 per capita in U.S. cities, up 6 percent, or $100 per capita, since 2020. The company says it analyzed crime data, including violent crimes such as murder, rape, and aggravated assault and property crimes such as home burglary and motor vehicle theft. MoneyGeek omitted any cities that didn't report murder and rape. It calculated the cost of crime based on the "direct economic costs of crime to individuals and society." This includes the medical and mental health care costs for victims and the damage to and loss of property, and the costs for police and corrections, MoneyGeek stated in its report. "Aside from the imminent danger of crime, people living in higher crime areas see depressed home values and pay higher prices for crucial needs, including home insurance, renters insurance, and auto insurance," the report states. Ranking No. 1 on MoneyGeek’s list is St. Louis, which has an estimated crime cost per capita of $8,457, according to the finance company. Democrat Tishaura Jones was sworn in as the 47th mayor and the first black female mayor in the city’s history on April 20, 2021. Her predecessor was also a Democrat. Ranked second is Birmingham, with an estimated crime cost per capita of $7,900. It's also run by a Democrat, Mayor Randall L. Woodfin, who began his second term as Birmingham’s 30th mayor on Nov. 23, 2021. Baltimore is the third costliest U.S. city in terms of crime, according to MoneyGeek, with an estimated crime cost per capita of $7,230. The next three cities on the list are Memphis, Detroit, and Cleveland. Three cities from Louisiana make up the 7th, 8th, and 9th spots—New Orleans, Shreveport, then Baton Rouge. And rounding out the top 10 is Little Rock. All of the aforementioned cities have Democratic mayors, except Shreveport, which elected Mayor Tom Arceneaux, a Republican who took office on Dec. 31, 2022, after the time period used by MoneyGeek for its report.  The previous mayors, since 2006, were Democrats. No Crime Fighting Solutions in Sight Violent crime in the 10 most violent cities is bad and it is getting increasingly worse. Just last week, there was a wild west-style shootout on I-59 near the Arkadelphia Road exit that leads to Birmingham-Southern College. The rush-hour traffic shootout injured four people and shut down the I-59 for hours. A couple of months earlier, stunning TikTok videos went viral on the Internet when they showed scenes of a Pilot Travel Center near Birmingham-Southern that had been abandoned by employees and looted. The videos showed empty shelves, broken merchandise, and a ransacked ATM inside the travel center, which is located less than a mile away from the college at Finley Boulevard and Bankhead Highway. Officials in America's 10 most dangerous cities do not have to worry about the skyrocketing violence in their cities because they are usually escorted by taxpayer-funded security details wherever they go. Even though no one is making specific threats against these officials, they know how unsafe their cities are. Meanwhile, ordinary citizens in these cities must fend for themselves. Finally, none of these cities has an effective public safety plan to combat rising crime. As a result, violent crime has spiraled out of control in these citities. Shootings and crime-related deaths are a daily occurrence in them, with no end in sight. Extreme caution is advised when traveling through or visiting in these cities. You must be responsible for your own public safety.

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on November 16, 2023: Updated at 2 p.m. PST An Editorial Opinion Alabama A&M University has effectively forgiven the $527,280,064 debt owed to the school by the state of Alabama.  The debt was calculated by the federal government and memorialized in a September 18, 2023, letter from the U.S. Departments of Education and Agriculture to Alabama governor Kay Ivey. Alabama A&M President Daniel K. Wims promptly notified Gov. Ivey that the university had no intention of taking any steps to collect this debt.  Additionally, the university has avoided making any public statement acknowledging the validity of this debt since it was announced by the federal government on September 18th. President Wims tasked Huntsville attorney Rod Steakley, with coming up with a plausible excuse for not collecting the debt.   Steakley is a political conservative who serves as a director on the controversial Alabama Policy Institute. The Institute is a Birmingham-based think tank that donated $1,077,500 in 2021 to convicted cocaine drug trafficker, serial motor vehicle thief, and attempted murderer Kenneth Bryan Dawson to start, run, and oversee the operations of 1819 News. This media organization functions as the de facto media arm of Rod Steakley's Alabama Policy Institute. Rod Steakley and President Wims have convinced the university’s board of trustees that the $527,280,064 is not really owed to Alabama A&M because the university received whatever equity funding that was owed the institution from the state in a 2005 settlement of the long-running Knight v. Alabama higher education desgregation case.  Both men are dead wrong on this point, but it does not matter.  They have successfully gaslighted the university's notoriously weak and compromised board of trustees. Steakley's legal advice provides President Wims with a "fig leaf" to cover for Wims’ failure to pursue debt collection measures, due to cowardice. Wims has privately told a couple of colleagues that he does not want to make Gov. Ivey angry at him by attempting to collect this debt. Rod Steakley’s advice is in sync with a September 28, 2023, letter from Gov. Ivey to the Secretaries of Education and Agriculture where she disputed the debt and threatened the basic right of Alabama A&M to exist under the Morrill Act of 1890.  Ivey claims the Act is “unconstitutional.” Gov. Kay Ivey rewarded President Wims for his cowardice by proclaiming October to be "HBCU Month." This proclamation was a symbolic gesture that had no monetary value attached to it. Like a puppy getting a pat on the head, Dr. Wims was ecstatic. Rod Steakley ignored a request by one Alabama A&M trustee to place a resolution on the board of trustees’ October 27, 2023, meeting agenda to authorize the university to begin debt collection actions. Steakley simply refused to prepare the resolution. Board chairman Roderick D. Watts, who supports the university’s de facto forgiveness of this $527,280,064 debt, is a Wims stooge. Community and civic leaders in Watts' hometown of Gadsden view him as a Clarence Thomas-style "Uncle Tom." Instead of pursuing debt collection activities at the October board meeting, President Wims authorized a surreptitious “dirty tricks” operation that targeted me. The operation used washed-up Alabama-based political operative, domestic violence arrestee, and freelance “media whore” Steve Flowers to spread character assassination information about me with news media organizations within his syndication network. Earlier this year, Flowers was successful in getting one of these outlets -- the Tuscaloosa News -- to publish a “character assassination” article against me that he was paid to write in March during one of his periods of sobriety. For the right price, the Tuscaloosa News will trash anybody.  For example, in 2017, the Tuscaloosa News trashed University of Alabama honors student Megan Rondini in her rape-suicide case.  The News prostituted itself for money by publishing the full-page ad depicted below, which trashed and bashed a deceased Megan Rondini and her grieving family. Last week, one statewide media organization confirmed to us that they flatly rejected Steve Flowers' latest character assassination article that targeted me. They also confirmed that Flowers had been hired by Alabama A&M to write and publish the article. Meanwhile, President Wims, who is an alleged sexual predator of men and women, is reportedly exploring counseling for his alleged sexual addiction.  However, Wims has taken no action to get professional help for the flock of alleged sexual predators and deadbeats he brought to Alabama A&M's campus while serving as provost and president. Rod Steakley, a Trojan Horse for Alabama's right-wing political agenda, is effectively running Alabama A&M from his outside legal counsel’s platform.  While Steakley comes to the table with his own baggage, he knows all of Wims' weaknesses, inferiority complex when dealing with white authority, and dark secrets. Steakley effectively uses this information and Wims' weaknesses to the advantage of the Alabama Policy Institute and other right-wing groups in Alabama. Alabama A&M trustees are completely disengaged from their oversight role. They are merely play-acting in the role of trustees. What is more, trustees Roderick D. Watts (chairman of the board), Kevin Ball, Tiffany Johnson Cole, Richard Crunkleton, Scherrie Banks Pickett, John Hackett, Jr., and Elizabeth B. Richardson have formed a human shield of sorts around Wims. Yet, not one of these trustees has lifted a finger to help the identified male and female victims of President Wims' alleged sexual abuse. One of these trustees also has a close personal relationship with President Wims. Gov. Kay Ivey is happy that Alabama A&M has walked away from the $527,280,064 debt the state owes to the university, without a fight. Ivey and her staff were amazed at how easy it was to rip-off educated black folks at Alabama A&M for $527,280,064. Interestingly, no state legislator or any other candidate who is running for Congress in Alabama has said a word about collecting this $527,280,064 and delivering it to Alabama A&M. They, too, are sleep-walking their way through this costly and embarassing failure of leadership. Former governor Bob Riley is extremely happy with Alabama A&M University's de facto forgiveness of this $527,280,064 debt because he will be able to use this money for a project that benefits one of his lobbying firm’s clients.  Even though Kay Ivey holds the title of governor, it's an open secret in Montgomery that Bob Riley still runs the office. Finally, Alabama A&M is back to its traditional role of begging alumni for money, squeezing former students with aggressive debt collection tactics, and hustling "guilt trip" donations from the heads of major corporations. The university's president is most comfortable on his knees.

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on November 15, 2023 An Editorial Opinion On September 27, 2020, we were the only news organization to report that Donald Trump did not plan to leave office if he lost the November 3, 2020, presidential election. In my article, “The Plan is Set: Trump’s Not Leaving Office,” we explained why. This week, it was revealed that Jenna Ellis, a former Trump lawyer and co-defendant in the Georgia election RICO case, told state prosecutors that Trump was not going to leave the White House, despite the fact that he had lost the election and nearly all of his subsequent election challenges had failed. Trump had decided to stay in power by any and all means necessary. On November 17, 2020, I published, “Trump’s Coup D’état Against Biden/Harris Government,” which detailed Trump’s plan to use the military to stay in office. In August 2023, legacy media groups finally reported on Trump’s plan to use the military to stay in power after his 2020 election defeat. My Prior Predictions About Trump’s Presidential Aspirations All Came True On August 2, 2015, I became the first American journalist to publicly predict Trump's 2016 election victory.  My prediction was made a mere three weeks after Trump announced his candidacy. This prediction became true in November 2016. On March 20, 2020, I predicted Trump's defeat in 2020, which was caused by Trump's mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic.  This prediction became true in November 2020. There was never any "outcome determinative" election fraud, as claimed by Trump. On July 11, 2023, I predicted that Donald Trump would become the GOP presidential nominee in 2024, and that he will win the presidency.  This prediction is on track to becoming true, despite Trump’s four indictments and 91 criminal charges. Trump's election victory in 2024, coupled with the power of the U.S. presidency, will keep him from going to prison. What Does the Future Holds for Donald Trump? So that we are clear, I do not support Donald Trump or Joe Biden for president in 2024.  Both men are deeply flawed. Trump’s flaws are described for 73 pages (59 to 132) in a Form S-4 that was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on November 13, 2023, by a publicly traded company that seeks to acquire Trump’s financially distressed Truth Social digital media company. The flaws documented on Donald Trump in the Form S-4 are precisely defined, factual in nature, and plain awful. National polls by credible media organizations confirm that the American public has lost confidence in Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.  I have, too. In my view, Joe Biden is the weakest American president since Herbert Hoover.  Plus, Biden is old, feeble, and senile. That's the cold, hard, truth. Barring divine intervention from God, Donald Trump will become the next president of the United States. Trump will go down in history as the 45th and 47th President of the United States. After he assumes office in January of 2025, Trump is will likely mete out severe political punishment to: (a) participants in the January 6th Congressional Committee hearings, (b) DOJ criminal prosecution team members, (c) New York state criminal prosecution team members, and (d) Georgia criminal prosecution team members. Trump's ruthlessness in this regard will match that of his presidential role models -- Russian President Vladimir Putin, China President Xi Pinping, and North Korea's Kim Jong Un. Trump will likely pardon all of the defendants who were convicted of crimes arising from their organization of and participation in the January 6th insurrection. Finally, Donald Trump’s margin of victory over Biden will be the greatest landslide since Ronald Reagan defeated Walter Mondale in 1984.

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on November 13, 2023 An Editorial Opinion By his own admission, 1819 News president, CEO, and publisher Kenneth Bryan Dawson reduced his potential prison sentence in 2008 from 384 years to 12 years.  Dawson is a convicted cocaine drug dealer, motor vehicle thief, and attempted murderer in Colorado. Court records confirm Dawson's extensive criminal history. Dawson was a “shot caller” in prison.  He reportedly declared his allegiance to the “white car” at his various prison locations, and he eventually became one of its leaders.  The “white car” is an inmate description for a white supremacy group within the general population. As “shot caller,” Dawson ordered the beatings of other inmates and participated in some of these beatings himself.  Dawson has publicly confessed to his prison violence. The Colorado Department of Corrections punished Dawson for his violent behavior by placing him in the “Hole” for several months.  The “Hole” is administrative segregation, which means Dawson was removed from the general inmate population and placed in an isolated detention cell. In contrast to Bryan Dawson’s couple of months in the “Hole” for prison violence, I spent one year in the “Hole.”  However, my punishment had nothing to do with any violent behavior on my part.  I was punished for writing news articles for my website, even though prison rules allowed it. My ordeal in the “Hole” began with the April 28, 2020, publication of an article dealing with Mack Smith (Reg. No. 59923-019), an elderly white inmate in my dormitory who contracted COVID-19 at the Talladega Federal Prison Camp.  My roommate and I desperately tried to get Mr. Smith the medical help he needed.  Prison officials ignored our repeated requests to send Smith to a hospital.  Smith later died from complications related to his non-stop coughing, shortness of breath, profuse sweating, and fatigue. After multiple stays in the “Hole,” prisons officials realized they could not “break” me or stop the publication of my news articles.  They eventually released me from the “Hole” for the last time in February 2022. Bryan Dawson found God in prison.   In contrast, God accompanied me to prison, stayed by my side the entire 3 years I was incarcerated, and heaped plenty of His blessings upon me after my release in August 2022. Dawson Traded Stolen Motor Vehicles to the Mexican Cartels for Illegal Drugs Bryan Dawson stole ATVs and motorcycles for Mexican Drug Cartels in exchange for a steady supply of cocaine.  Dawson helped the Cartels flood the United States with cocaine that crossed the Southern border.  His stolen ATVs and motrocycles helped Cartel members evade a cocaine supply chain disruption and capture by Border Patrol and DEA agents. This is how Dawson explained his drug dealing with the Cartels: “What that looked like was we would steal 4 wheelers and motorcycles and give them to Mexicans that would take them back across the border, and they would pay me in drugs.  I was supposedly the ringleader of that whole thing.  I don't know how true that was, but that's the way it was in the cop's eyes.  They busted one of the houses that had the motorcycles, and they pressured the guy who lived there and he said that I was running all these rings.” After Dawson was busted for trying to kill the police informant who snitched on him and "outed" his illegal "stolen ATVs & motorcycles-for-cocaine" operation to law enforcement officers, Dawson was facing 384 years in prison.  He pleaded guilty to an assault charge and received a 12-year sentence. I will tell you why Dawson was able to go from 384 years in prison to a 12-year sentence in an upcoming article. [Hint: It had nothing to do with great lawyering.] Dawson Hooked Up with the Alabama Policy Institute After Bryan Dawson was released from prison, he relocated to a secluded part of Alabama and hooked up with the right-wing Alabama Policy Institute (API).  This hookup is explained in my November 8, 2023, article titled, “Kenneth Bryan Dawson: The “Shot Caller” Who Sanctioned 1819 News’ Hit Job on Fred ‘Bubba’ Copeland.” After this article was published, API tried to distance itself from 1819 News – at least from a public perception standpoint.  However, API’s tax return for 2021 and “dark money” contributions from API supports paint a much different story. API's 2021 tax return, alone, shows that the organization funneled $1,077,500 to Bryan Dawson’s 1819 Media, despite Dawson's rap sheet as a cocaine drug dealer, accomplice to Mexican drug cartels, motor vehicle thefts, and history of violent criminal conduct. In the wake of Fred "Bubba" Copeland’s November 3, 2023, suicide, API began a public relations/crisis management campaign to disassociate itself from Dawson and 1819 News. Today, API issued this statement: “[T]he Alabama Policy Institute (API) would like to highlight that 1819 News and API formally separated on December 31, 2022. There is no legal, editorial, or financial affiliation between the two entities.” Despite this disclaimer, API-related "dark money" is still flowing to Dawson's 1819 News organization. API views Kenneth Bryan Dawson as somewhat of a hero. They view me as a troublemaker. Coming soon -- Who are the big money donors propping up Bryan Dawson, Jeff Poor, and 1819 News, and why?

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on November 11, 2023 An Editorial Opinion Today, 1819 News trotted out another freelance journalist to articulate a last line of defense for the embattled news organization in the Fred “Bubba” Copeland homicide case. Her name is Jennifer Oliver O'Connell. She is an investigative journalist, author, opinion analyst, and contributor to 1819 News, Redstate, and other publications. After quoting scripture and bashing Bubba Copeland, Ms. O’Connell declared that: “1819 News performed responsible journalism in exposing Copeland and the destruction he chose to leave in his wake.” In bashing Bubba Copeland, Ms. O’Connell repackaged and parroted the talking points birthed by 1819 News in the aftermath of Copeland’s suicide. These talking points focus on smearing Copeland for his cross-dressing activities, his works of erotic fiction, and his activities as a church, business, and community leader. Like the other 1819 News sycophants, Ms. O'Connell even hinted that some of Copeland’s activities may have endangered women and children in the Smiths Station community. 1819 News’ Desperate Search for a Viable Defense to Homicide Journalism Ms. O’Connell’s Op-Ed piece sought to provide 1819 News with the cloak of a credible defense in Bubba Copeland’s homicide case. After all, Copeland killed himself only after 1819 News “outed” him on November 1, 2023, as a cross-dresser and writer of erotic works of fiction. After a week of intense soul-searching and after floating several trial balloons, 1819 News has decided that the best defense in this homicide case is to "blame the dead man" or, as O’Connell says, “the destruction he chose to leave in his wake.” This defense is absurd, insulting to the Copeland family, and ineffective. Ms. O’Connell, who is not an independent voice or a journalism expert in these ethical and legal matters, did not express an opinion or provide any commentary on the extensive criminal background of 1819 News president, CEO, and publisher Kenneth Bryan Dawson, or the endangerment conviction of his sidekick and editor-in-chief, Robert Jeffrey Poor. Apparently, these documented criminal histories were immaterial to Ms. O'Connell's analysis. After all, she has an ongoing business relationship with 1819 News. I do not take money from anybody to: (a) write my investigative articles, (b) express my editorial opinions, or (c) ignore criminal histories of the key parties in my articles. There is no commercial angle associated with the operation of my digital news platforms. I believe the truth should be unfettered and free. As such, the criminal histories of Bryan Dawson and Jeff Poor are relevant to my assessment of this tragic case. Bryan Dawson is a convicted drug dealer, serial thief, and attempted murderer who caused or contributed to the death of Bubba Copeland. If Dawson had been convicted of the same string of felonies in Alabama, he would still be in prison under the state's "three strikes and you're out" statute for career criminals and Bubba Copeland would still be alive. Like the handful of 1819 News defenders who have commented on this story on my digital news platforms, Ms. O’Connell does NOT tell us what municipal code sections, state statutes, or federal laws Bubba Copeland’s alleged conduct violated. Instead, O’Connell is merely critical of Copeland's lifestyle choices and the genre of fictional writings he produced under his First Amendment right to freedom of speech. Ironically, as an author, Ms. O’Connell liberally relishes her freedom to write articles on a wide range of subjects. The Obligation of a Responsible Journalist Who Receives Information About Alleged Crimes in Progress On October 31, 2023, 1819 News received the "tip" information about Bubba Copeland's cross-dressing and works of erotic fiction, according to Bryan Dawson and Jeff Poor. Some of the information allegedly involved women and children. At that time, 1819 News had an affirmative and immediate duty to contact the appropriate law enforcement agency to report this information, particularly if they believed a crime of sexual exploitation might have been committed against a child. Instead of promptly reporting this information to law enforcement officials, 1819 News rushed to publish an article that “outed” Copeland on November 1st. Kenneth Bryan Dawson and Robert Jeffrey Poor knew the journalistic protocols that applied when their reporter (Mitchell Craig Monger) received information about Copeland's alleged sexual exploitation and possible abuse of children. To report this information, all Dawson, Poor, and Monger had to do was file a report on the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)'s website at www.cybertipline.com, or simply called 1-800-843-5678. They failed to do so. Ms. O’Connell’s Op-Ed piece does not acknowledge this affirmative duty or address it in any way. She simply glides over it. Bryan Dawson and Jeff Poor did not follow this standard protocol for reporting alleged child exploitation, which would have taken only a few minutes to do. Had they done so, there would have been an immediate law enforcement response to their report. Dawson and Poor deliberately skipped this basic protocol and "outed" Bubba Copeland because Monger's article was salacious and scandalous. These men knew the published article would cause Copeland unbearable mental anguish, emotional distress, and psychological pain and suffering. Finally, they knew, or reasonably should have known, that the article would likely cause Copeland to kill himself. The publication of the November 1st article was a huge error in judgment by 1819 News’ management team, under the facts and circumstances of Bubba Copeland's homicide case. In that regrettable moment, 1819 News elevated the opportunity for a quick journalist scoop over the preservation of a human life. No amount of quoted scripture or proselytizing from Ms. O’Connell will change this sad fact or cover-up 1819 News' colossal and irreversible journalistic mistake. 1819 News' publication of Craig Monger's article likely caused Bubba Copeland to commit suicide. This is when 1819 News left the zone of responsible journalism and entered the world of criminal homicide. 1819 News' breach of this basic protocol and Copeland's subsequent suicide may expose Dawson, Poor, and Monger to possible homicide charges, depending upon what the criminal investigations conducted by the Lee County Sheriff's Department and local grand jury find. By the way, Sheriff Jay Jones says his office examined Bubba Copeland's electronic devices and found no evidence of criminal activity on them. At this juncture, Ms. O’Connell is attempting to sell the public on an after-the-fact justification for the journalistic failures of Bryan Dawson, Jeff Poor, and Craig Monger. These men would be better served by consulting with criminal defense counsel, as opposed to seeking public relations cover from Ms. O’Connell. Coming soon -- Who are the big money donors propping up Bryan Dawson, Jeff Poor, and 1819 News, and why?

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on November 10, 2023 An Editorial Opinion Yesterday, Kenneth Bryan Dawson, president, CEO, and publisher of 1819 News, and Jeff Poor, 1819’s editor-in-chief, appeared together on Dawson’s podcast to defend their November 1, 2023, decision to carry out a media “hit job” on Smiths Station, Alabama mayor Fred “Bubba” Copeland (deceased). The article published that day “outed" Copeland as a cross-dresser and writer of erotic fiction. Two days after this highly questionable and controversial 1819 News article was published, Copeland committed suicide. For 34 minutes, Dawson and Poor meandered their way through an awkward, awful, and weak after-the-fact justification for why they carried out the “hit job” on Copeland. Obviously, with Copeland dead, he was not around to refute or comment on the one-sided version of events painted by Dawson and Poor. Dawson and Poor did their best to imply that Bubba Copeland may have been involved in some type of illegal child porn activity. They blew plenty of smoke in that direction during their diatribe. However, neither man offered actual evidence of any criminal activity by Copeland that victimized men, women, or children. Dawson and Poor did not produce a scintilla of evidence that Copeland's cross-dressing conduct and erotic fiction rose to the level of a viable cause of action in a civil lawsuit by any "victim" against Copeland. Likewise, they did not identify any misconduct Copeland committed in his role as a pastor of his church. Finally, Dawson and Poor did NOT take whatever "tip"information or investigative research they acquired on Bubba Copeland to any law enforcement agency prior to publishing their article. Dawson Knows His Way Around the Criminal Justice System Interestingly, Kenneth Bryan Dawson knows his way around the criminal justice system. He has been in and out of Colorado jails and prisons for 16 years on felony charges of trafficking cocaine and other illegal drugs, engaging in serial acts of theft, and attempting to murder a police informant. The attempted murder charge arose from an April 18, 2007, incident in which Dawson, acting alone, savagely beat a man with a padlock and chain. He also tased the victim repeatedly. Dawson accused the victim of snitching on him in one of Dawson's many motor vehicle theft cases. Years later, when discussing the same incident, Dawson claimed that another accomplice was with him when the beating incident occurred. Dawson now attributes the most violent part of the beating to his accomplice. During the 34-minute podcast interview, Bryan Dawson (as he is known in Alabama) never mentioned his long, violent, colorful career as a drug dealer and trafficker, thief, and attempted murderer. Jeff Poor avoided all mention of Dawson’s prolific criminal history, as well. Throughout the podcast, Dawson and Poor held their ground and reaffirmed their self-righteous duty to serve a "morality police" function in Alabama. The two men lobbed hypocrisy grenades at AL.com reporters and attacked national media outlets. They also avoided any mention of my article outing Dawson’s long and ugly career criminal status. As I reported in my November 8, 2023 article, Kenneth Bryan Dawson was the “shot caller” who signed off on 1819 News' “hit job” on Bubba Copeland. I deliberately used the term “shot caller” in my article because I knew that Dawson performed this function in prison, where the term originates. My Takeaways from 1819 News' Role in Bubba Copeland's Suicide It's been one week since 1819 News caused Bubba Copeland’s suicide. 1819 News still has not told us what crime they believe Bubba Copeland committed. furthermore, I have seen no evidence that Copeland committed any state or federal crime. Cross-dressing is a legally permissible activity in America, whether it is done in private or in public. Actor Tyler Perry made a very successful living out of cross-dressing. Olympian Bruce Jenner has done the same thing. Every store in America has surveillance cameras, and the images captured on these cameras lawfully belong to the owner of the store. Did Bubba Copeland sell any of these images to any third-party? Nobody has made this claim. Did Copeland violate any state or federal child pornography laws with his surveillance images? Nobody has made this claim, either. The act of writing fictional accounts of murder is a legally protected First Amendment activity in the United States. There is nothing that Bubba Copeland wrote in his private world that award-wining author James Patterson has not written and published in his Alex Cross, Michael Bennett, Women's Murder Club, Maximum Ride, Daniel X, and NYPD Red series of books, as well as many stand-alone thrillers, non-fiction, and romance novels. Patterson's books have sold more than 425 million copies. As far as we know, Bubba Copeland was not selling his works of fiction to anyone. At some point, 1819 News needs to answer this threshold question: How was Bubba Copeland's lawful conduct worse than the documented career criminal conduct of a man who: (a) sold cocaine and other drugs to students and everybody else in Colorado, (b) stole valuable property on a serial basis, and (c) viciously beat and tased a police informant for snitching on him? Despite the self-serving, sanctimonious testimonials that Dawson and Poor gave during the podcast, 1819 News crossed the line in "outing" Bubba Copeland. 1819 News' November 1, 2023, article caused the suicide of a man who has broken no laws. What is worse, this article was sanctioned by "Shot Caller" Kenneth Bryan Dawson, a man who has broken a litany of state felony laws. At the end of the day, Alabama's new equivalent to the "morality police" caused a man to take his own life on November 3, 2023, and they are okay with what they did.. Parting Thoughts Personally, I don't believe in forcing an innocent man/woman to commit suicide solely because I don't like the way he/she lives his/her personal life within an ultra-conservative political environment. In 1964, the FBI tried to force Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to commit suicide, without success. In 1970, the FBI succeeded with its effort to force Hollywood actress Jean Seberg to commit suicide. Thankfully, we do not live in a theocracy like Iran. As such, we do NOT need 1819 News to serve as Alabama’s version of a "morality police force." We live in America, where our rights and responsibilities are defined by law and we are protected from religious tyranny. I cherish the First Amendment's freedom of speech as much as other Americans cherish the Second Amendment's right to bear arms. It amazes me that so many Alabamians who want to fully exercise their Second Amendment rights are so willing to curtail, restrict, or condemn another man’s exercise of his First Amendment rights. As expected, neither Kenneth Bryan Dawson, nor Jeff Poor, apologized to the Copeland family for setting in motion the events that caused Bubba Copeland's suicide. So, I apologized for them in my article yesterday titled, ”Goodbye to Bubba." It was the right thing to do. Finally, now that Kenneth Bryan Dawson and Jeff Poor have shown us who they really are, we should believe them and leave them. As decent human beings, we are so much better than the standard of "homicide" journalism these men proudly practice at 1819 News.

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on November 9, 2023 What 1819 News did to Fred “Bubba” Copeland was wrong. Copeland was not a criminal. However, Kenneth Bryan Dawson, the “shot caller” who approved 1819 News' “hit job” on Bubba Copeland, is a documented, violent, serial offender. 1819 News crossed the line of journalistic ethics by "outing" Copeland under the specific facts and circumstances of his cross-dressing behavior. Yesterday, for example, the Lee County, Alabama Sheriff's office confirmed that Copeland's electronic devices did NOT contain any evidence of any crimes related to his private cross-dressing conduct. Furthermore, no alleged "victim" of Copeland's cross-dressing conduct thought enough of their "victimhood" to file a lawsuit for invasion of privacy, defamation, or any other civil cause of action prior to 1819 News' publication of the "hit job" on Bubba Copeland. As president, CEO, and publisher of 1819 News, Kenneth Bryan Dawson must take full responsibility for the actions of his media platform in "outing" the private conduct of Bubba Copeland in a scenario where no crime was committed and no lawsuit was filed that was related to this private conduct. 1819 News owes the Copeland family a sincere, forthright, and timely apology for publishing the premeditated “hit job” article that led to Copeland’s death by suicide. There is no excuse for 1819 News' reckless and unprofessional conduct in this regard. It is my sincere hope that 1819 News does not compound its fatal mistake by engaging in, or encouraging others to participate in, a campaign of “victim smearing” and “victim bashing” of Bubba Copeland and his family. I saw this kind of irresponsible news media conduct occur after I championed the cause of University of Alabama honors student Megan Rondini in her rape-suicide case. The Tuscaloosa News prostituted itself for money by publishing the full-page ad depicted below, which trashed and bashed a deceased Megan Rondini and her grieving family. The Tuscaloosa News never fully recovered from its "victim trashing" blunder. Its journalistic reputation is in the toilet. Today, the News has become the drum major for original Alabama-based COINTELPRO media entities that love to bash me. The Temptation to "Out" People for Sport is Great, But Must Be Avoided There are alcoholic state officials on Goat Hill in Montgomery who are "commode-hugging drunk" by noon each day. There are Bible-thumping "Christian" members of Alabama Legislature who have gotten secret, in-state, abortions for their mistresses, on more than one occasion. There are appellate state court judges who engage in all kinds of deviant sexual behavior and fetishes. There are federal judges in Alabama who are plain freaks in their private sex lives. The temptation to "out" these people is great. The documents, photos, and videos capturing their wayward conduct and sinful ways are salacious. However, I have not “outed” these flawed and pathetic public officials because I have not been able to tie their aberrant, disgusting, and hypocritical private behavior to any malfeasance in the performance of their official public duties. I do not “out” people simply for the sport of it, or because I disagree with their political affiliation or public policy agenda. Additionally, I do not use my Christian beliefs as a license to knowingly, willingly, and gratuitously hurt people. What is more, whenever I make a mistake on a matter of significant public interest, I promptly apologize for my mistake and sincerely ask the affected persons who may be hurt by my mistake for their forgiveness. This is my obligation as a Christian, as a decent human being, as a community leader, and as a journalist. There are professional boundaries that govern the writing and publication of my hard-hitting news articles. I work hard every day to stay within them. I expect 1819 News and other news media organizations to stay within these boundaries, as well. Many news media organizations simply do not care about these boundaries anymore, especially in the age of digital news. They need the money that comes from salacious “click bait” articles in order to survive. I don’t. I do not sell ads or charge a subscription fee for my news content. In a democratic society, the truth should always be free of cost and available to everyone. Honoring Bubba Copeland To the family of Bubba Copeland, 1819 News may never have the courage or decency to apologize to you. However, as a Christian, as a family man, and as a journalist, I am apologizing to you for them. In the exercise of your proven Christian faith, I humbly ask the Copeland family to forgive 1891 News, as difficult as it may be to do so. Agape love must always conquer small-minded hatred. We cannot bring Bubba back to you, but we can honor his memory. I have tried to honor Bubba with my articles solely because it is the right thing to do. As you lay Bubba to rest today, please know that the drum majors of hatred in Alabama will NEVER lead my band!

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on November 8, 2021; Updated at 9:20 a.m. PST An Editorial Opinion Kenneth Bryan Dawson is the president, CEO, and publisher of 1819 News, the publication that caused Smiths Station, Alabama mayor, pastor, and businessman Fred Lavon “Bubba” Copeland to commit suicide on November 3, 2021. Dawson had final approval of the “hit piece” 1819 News published on Copeland on November 1, 2023. In prison jargon, Kenneth Bryan Dawson is the “shot caller” at 1819 News. "Shot callers" order, approve, and/or sanction "hit jobs" on designated "targets" for whatever reasons they think are necessary. An emotionally distraught Copeland killed himself with a gun after 1819 News reporter Michael Craig Monger, a/k/a Craig Monger, published his premeditated “hit job” article online about Bubba Copeland and his cross-dressing fetish. Craig Monger published this article six days after his parents' world crashed with the filing of bankruptcy petitions in a Nashville, Tennessee federal court by Tricord Business Group, LLC, and his father Robert Earl Monger, a co-owner of Tricord. Monger’s mother, Juile Monger, was Tricord’s Chief People Officer. Jeff Poor, 1819 News' editor-in-chief, approved publication of the article, as well. Poor was promoted to editor-in-chief in June 2023 "to lead the outlet to new heights as its 'head coach',” said Dawson. With Copeland's suicide, 1819 News reached this goal in a negative way. Dawson is a Violent Serial Offender Who Raised $6 Million for Donald Trump/GOP Candidates in 2020 Kenneth Bryan Dawson is violent serial offender. Dawson has drug, theft, and aggravated assault convictions on his public record. Dawson is known by his many aliases, including Bryan Dawson, Brian Dawson, and Kenneth B. Dawson. In Alabama, Dawson is known as “Bryan Dawson.” Bryson Dawson is plugged into some of Alabama’s most powerful political players. This is particularly true for the ones who founded, operate, and fund the Alabama Policy Institute. These politicos love Bryan Dawson. They have demonstrated their undying loyalty to Dawson by underwriting his financial security and business success in Alabama to the tune of $1,077,500 in 2021, alone. Bryan Dawson also owns Reformation Media Consulting, LLC, a public relations company he founded on October 5, 2017. Dawson won the hearts and minds of Alabama's MAGA political establishment when he raised $6 million for Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign and down-ballot GOP candidates in the state. Dawson’s demonstrated fundraising prowess gave him a cloak of legitimacy within the Alabama Policy Institute's sphere of influence. Big name power players who are attached to the Alabama Policy Institute and its predecessor, the Alabama Family Alliance, have been able to overlook Bryan Dawson's mugshots, criminal court records, and rap sheet of drug trafficking, thievery, and crimes of aggravated violence because he is a proven fundraiser for Trump and state GOP candidates. This list of API power players includes: (a) co-founder/Congressman Gary Palmer (R-Alabama), (b) co-founder/Alabama State Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Parker (R-Alabama), (c) former API president Caleb Crosby, (d) current API president Stephanie Smith, and (e) API board member/Huntsville Attorney Rod Steakley. Bryan Dawson was able to ingratiated himself to the Alabama’s Bible-thumping "Evangelical Christian"community by telling them he is on a mission from God to save the world. As a result, they have joyfully ponied up big money for Dawson's various Alabama-based entities and enterprises, as well. Dawson even lassoed the national grocery chain Publix into advertising with 1819 News. We have not been able to reach Publix to find out what commercial interest the grocery store chain had in teaming up with Dawson, considering his violent criminal history. The People of the State of Colorado v. Kenneth Bryan Dawson The state of Colorado knows Bryan Dawson really well. They know him by his real name -- Kenneth Bryan Dawson. He amassed a rap sheet of felony criminal charges in Colorado that would have impressed New York mobster John Gotti. At one point, Dawson’s violent criminal offenses subjected him to a possible 384 years in Colorado state prisons. Dawson is a twice convicted cocaine drug dealer and convicted thief. Dawson has also had his probation revoked in his drug case(s). Kenneth Bryan Dawson is also a very violent person. In 2007, Dawson was charged with 14 counts of Victim Retaliation, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Violent Crime that Caused Death, Aggravated Robbery with a Weapon, Burglary, Extortion, and Felony Menacing. These charges grew out of incident in which Dawson and another violent offender administered a savage beating to a police informant within days after Dawson was released from a county jail on his drug charges. Dawson and his accomplice bludgeoned the informant with a black jack. The victim's blood was everywhere. As a “shot caller,” Dawson made the decision to retaliate against this informant for snitching on him in a drug case involving meth and possession of a firearm. After his release from jail, Dawson and his accomplice went to the informant’s house to administer the beating. They left the viciously beaten informant in the house to die. While he was in the house, Dawson also stole valuable items from the unconscious victim. The criminal charges filed in Dawson's case indicate that this victim eventually died as a result of his injuries, but Dawson says this was not the case. We have found no court record indicating that Dawson expressed any remorse over this victim beating incident. Dawson cut a plea deal with state prosecutors to dismiss all but one count of his violent victim retaliation offenses. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison in his aggravated assault/witness retaliation case. Altogether, Dawson spent 16 years in county jails and state prisons for his multiple drug, theft, and crime of violence offenses. Plea deal sentence reductions of the magnitude recorded in Dawson's case -- from 384 to 16 years -- almost always carry a lifetime obligation to serve as an "on-demand" law enforcement snitch, tool, and/or resource person. Upon his release from prison, Kenneth Bryan Dawson: (a) relocated to Alabama, (b) claimed to have experienced what Biblical scholars call a “Saul to Paul conversion along the road to Damascus,” (c) changed his alias to Bryan Dawson, (d) aligned himself with the Alabama Policy Institute, and (e) feasted off the Institute's "dark money" contributions and its constellation of political, business, and religious allies. The Birth of 1819 News 1819 News is a conservative news website that focuses on the state of Alabama. The publication was launched in October 2021 as an affiliate of the Alabama Policy Institute. 1819 News was managed by a non-profit corporation Dawson formed on June 1, 2021, named 1819 Media, LLC. In 2021, the Alabama Policy Institute funneled $1,077,500 to 1819 Media, despite Dawson's rap sheet as a violent serial offender. Dawson dissolved 1819 Media on May 11, 2023. On December 9, 2022, Bryan Dawson incorporated 1819 News, LLC, as a “for-profit” limited liability company. On December 9, 2022, Dawson also incorporated the Alabama Media Foundation, a non-profit organization which still exists. For all intents and purposes, 1819 News functions today as the multimedia platform and propaganda wing of the Alabama Policy Institute. One of the Alabama Policy Institute’s influential board members is Huntsville attorney Rod Steakley, who also serves as legal counsel to Alabama A&M University. Steakley is presently guiding Alabama A&M’s efforts to surreptitiously forgo its collection of a $527,289,064 debt that is owed to the university by the state of Alabama. The U.S. Departments of Education and Agriculture publicly announced this indebtedness on September 18, 2023. Reportedly, Attorney Rod Steakley has not disclosed to Alabama A&M's board of trustees: (a) the exact nature and scope of the Alabama Policy Institute's working relationship with serial offender Kenneth Bryan Dawson, (b) API's "dark money" funding of Dawson's entities, and (c) any real or apparent conflicts of interest that may have arisen from Steakley's involvement as an API board member in these events, considering Bubba Copeland's recent suicide. On November 2, 2023, the Alabama Policy Institute awarded embattled U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) its Warrior Award at the organization's annual dinner. Tuberville has become infamous in Washington for his unrepentant racist remarks about black Americans and his controversial blockage of hundreds of top military promotions across all branches of America's armed forces. "Outing" Bubba Copeland On November 1, 2023, 1819 News outed Bubba Copeland as a cross-dresser. It was a cold, calculated, media “hit job.” Craig Monger’s article included social media posts from Copeland, under a pseudonym, and photos in which he wore women's clothing. Copeland committed suicide two days after Monger published his article. On November 7, 2023, 1819 News commenced what some have characterized as a “victim shaming” campaign against a deceased Bubba Copeland and his grieving family. This campaign centers around an 1819 News article about two local women who claimed their name, image, and likeness had been used by Copeland in erotic fiction, without their consent. Interestingly, 1819 News did not say: (a) whether Bubba Copeland used the name, image, and likeness (NIL) of these two women in any written or photographic depiction of published pornography, or (b) whether Copeland used the NIL in a commercial or "for-profit" context, or (c) whether Copeland received a financial gain from the NIL that was not reported on his Alabama Ethics Commission Statement of Economic Interest form for 2023. Likewise, 1819 News did not say whether the women featured in the November 7th article filed a lawsuit against Copeland for allegedly invading their privacy or defaming them before Craig Monger published his November 1, 2023, "hit job" article. We found no record of any such lawsuit(s) being filed in Lee County. Bubba Copeland's death is now the subject of a state criminal investigation by the Lee County Sheriff's office and county district attorney. What Role, if any, Did Former Alabama Senator Tom Whatley Play in the 1819 News “Hit Job” on Copeland? Reliable confidential sources tell us that former state senator Tom Whatley (R-Auburn) may have been the person who painted a target on Bubba Copeland’s back to facilitate the 1819 News “hit job.” We do not have independent confirmation of this news report at this time. However, in 2021, Tom Whatley was caught looking at transgender porn online, just a week after he voted in favor of a bill that restricted transgender minors’ access to lifesaving health care. As shown in the photo below, Whatley "liked" an explicit tweet by the account “Bambi Hardcore TG 18+,” who describes him/herself as an “enbi trans girl faerie princess.” In June 2022, Whatley, who was arrested in 2014 for domestic violence, lost his re-election bid by one vote. Another confidential source claims that a federal law enforcement agency in Alabama may have provided additional information to 1819 News after the agency determined that Copeland's fetish, while unusual, was not illegal. This kind of federal law enforcement activity occurs often. The FBI's forced suicide of Hollywood actress Jean Seberg in 1970 is the best know example of how this type of law enforcement misconduct works. Given the drastic reduction in Dawson's criminal sentences -- from facing 384 years in prison to only serving 16 years behind bars, he fits the profile of a law enforcement "resource person." Dawson also operates the type of media platform the FBI used in the Jean Seberg forced suicide case. Bubba Copeland’s Funeral Arrangements The family of Bubba Copeland will receive friends on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Vance Brooks Funeral Home in Phenix City, Alabama. A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, November 9, 2023, at First Baptist of Phenix City. Bubba Copeland is survived by his loving wife Angela Simpson Copeland; his mother, Cora Annell Flowers Green and husband Hershal; his father, Fred L. Copeland Sr. and wife Cheryl of Valley, AL; a son, Carter L. Copeland; two daughters, AbbyKate Elizabeth Dawson and Ally Catherine Dawson; three sisters, Kimberlee Copeland Funk and husband Stephen; Terri Register and husband Noel and Ginger Green; and two brothers, Mike Green and wife Mardelle and Bill Green and wife Brandy. May Fred Lavon "Bubba" Copeland Rest In Peace. Hopefully, something good will come out of Copeland's unfortunate death.