Trump-loving former GOP official who hated face masks dies from COVID-19

Former Nashville Council Member Tony Tenpenny, a Trump-loving Republican who posted anti-face mask memes on Facebook, has died from complications resulting from being infected from COVID-19.

The Tennessean reports that Tenpenny “was hospitalized for more than a month at one of the St. Thomas hospitals and was placed on a ventilator earlier in September” before he died over the weekend.

Nashville Mayor John Cooper expressed his condolences after hearing of Tenpenny’s passing.

“I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of former councilman Tony Tenpenny,” he said. “I send my condolences to his wife, Robbie, their son Ira and the rest of the Tenpenny family.”

As The Tennessee Holler points out on Twitter, Tenpenny regularly railed against COVID-19 restrictions on his Facebook page, and he posted memes that attacked face masks as part of a socialist plot, while also directly accusing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of lying about the severity of the disease.

Tenpenny’s Facebook page was also filled with memes and content supportive of President Donald Trump.