A rising GOP star in California has died of COVID-19 weeks after blasting vaccine mandates at a conservative rally.
Kelly Ernby, 46, the deputy district attorney of Orange County and a presumed candidate for the state Assembly in 2022 died shortly after telling family and friends about her COVID diagnosis.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Ernby fell ill shortly after bashing COVID vaccine vaccine mandates at a Turning Point USA rally at Irvine City Hall on Dec. 4.
“There’s nothing that matters more than our freedoms right now,” she told the crowd during the rally.
It is not clear where or how she contracted the virus.
“The Orange County District Attorney’s office is utterly heartbroken by the sudden an unexpected passing of Deputy District Attorney Kelly Ernby,” District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement. “Kelly was an incredibly vibrant and passionate attorney who care deeply about the work that we do as prosecutors – and deeply about the community we all fight so hard to protect.”
The Orange County Republicans, where Ernby served as the precinct operations chair, said news of her death had caused them “great sadness.”
The group made no mention of Ernby’s cause of death just that she died unexpectedly after a “brief illness.”
Jon Fleischman, former executive director of the California Republican Party said even though Ernby had told him about her COVID diagnosis, he didn’t expect her to die, calling her passing “sudden.”
“I found her to be funny and generous,” he said. “She quickly became part of the fabric of our party. We’re really going to miss her. It’s very sad.”
It’s unclear if Ernby was vaccinated.
Oh she wasn’t vaccinated! I can almost guarantee it!