A rising Republican star from California died of COVID-19 just weeks after lashing out at vaccine mandates during a right-wing rally.
Kelly Ernby, an Orange County deputy district attorney and a presumptive 2022 state Assembly candidate, died shortly after telling her family and friends that she had contracted COVID-19.
According The Los Angeles TimesErnby fell ill shortly after speaking at a Turning Point USA rally on December 4. She told rally attendees that “there is nothing more important than our freedoms right now.”
It is not clear if Ernby was vaccinated.
Republicans in Orange County, where Ernby previously served as the district’s president of operations, said his death had caused them “great sadness.”
According to the group, Ernby died after suffering a “brief illness.”
The Orange County district attorney’s office released a statement honoring Ernby.
“The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is completely heartbroken over the sudden and unexpected death of Assistant District Attorney Kelly Ernby,” District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement. “Kelly was an incredibly bright and passionate attorney who cared deeply for the work we do as prosecutors and deeply for the community we all fight so hard to protect.”
Jon Fleischman, former executive director of the California Republican Party, said Ernby was “fun and generous” and had become “part of the fabric of our party.”
Ernby told Fleischman that he had been diagnosed with Covid-19 shortly before his death. He also indicated his intention to run for State Assembly in the newly created District 72.
In 2020, Ernby ran for the District 74 seat, which includes Irvine and Huntington Beach, although he was ultimately unsuccessful.
The TPUSA rally where he spoke shortly before he fell ill with covid-19 is not the only time Ernby has voiced opposition to vaccine mandates.
In 2019, Ernby fought against stricter vaccination rules for students in California. During an open online meeting, he told the audience that he did not “think that the government should be involved in demanding what vaccines people are getting.”
“I think it is a decision between doctors and their patients … If the government is going to demand vaccines, what else is it going to demand?” she said.
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