Texas GOP leader hospitalized with COVID-19 dies days after mocking vaccines

A Texas Republican leader who was hospitalized earlier this week with COVID-19 died just days after posting an anti-vaccination message – and previously shared an image touting a ‘mask burning’ event.

H. Scott Apley, 45, a member of the Republican State Executive Committee and Dickinson City Council, died Wednesday, the Galveston County Republican Party reported in a Facebook post with an “extremely heavy heart.”

The message did not mention the cause of death. But Apley was admitted to a local hospital last Sunday with “pneumonia-like symptoms and tested positive for COVID,” and was placed on a ventilator, according to a GoFundMe page created for his family.

Apley’s widow Melissa has also tested positive for the coronavirus but has not been hospitalized, according to the GoFundMe page. They recently had a baby boy, Reid.

“A tragedy,” reads the GOP’s Facebook post. “Please pray for Melissa and Reid and their family. God is in control, even if it’s still a hard thing to swallow.

The Texas Republican Party released a statement saying members were “incredibly saddened” to learn of Apley’s death.

A week ago, Apley reposted a mocking comment on the evolution of the COVID-19 vaccination situation, noting that in six months the nation had gone from “the vax ending the pandemic to … you can still die from COVID if you get vaxxed … to the non-vaxxed kill the vaxxed.

“Better take the jab,” one person replied.

Another replied after Apley’s death: “Rest in peace. I wish you had been vaccinated so your family wouldn’t have to cry for you.

The Republican leader also published a message claiming that Germany “plans to force people who will not be quarantined in camps.”

In April, Apley criticized the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine on Twitter.

In a particularly heartbreaking article in early July, Apley wrote: “Nothing makes you contemplate your mortality like attending a friend’s funeral. I hope to live a long time. I have a lot of things that I want to do, see and experience with my wife, friends and family. And I have a lot of hopes and dreams for my son Reid.