Ohio man, 60, who dismissed ‘bulls**t’ lockdown as a ‘political ploy’ dies from coronavirus complications
An Ohio man has died of COVID-19 after dismissing the coronavirus pandemic as a "political ploy" and calling his state's lockdown "bulls--t."
Sixty-year-old John W. McDaniel died last Wednesday, almost exactly a month after reportedly launching a series of angry messages about the outbreak. “Does anybody have the guts to say this COVID-19 is a political ploy? Asking for a friend. Prove me wrong,” he wrote on March 13, according to a report by The Sun.
And two days later, McDaniel said that Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s stay-at-home order closing bars and restaurants was "bulls--t."
“He doesn’t have that authority. If you are paranoid about getting sick just don’t go out. It shouldn’t keep those of us from living our lives,” he reportedly wrote. “The madness has to stop.”
While the posts have since been taken down, they were saved and widely circulated on social media. McDaniel, who became the first coronavirus fatality in Marion County, died “with his loving family by his side from complications from COVID-19," according to his obituary.
Contrary to his beliefs, McDaniel's family has pleaded in his obit for “everyone to continue practicing social distancing to keep each other safe.”
He is survived by his wife and two sons and his funeral service will be live-streamed on Wednesday. “You could not have known a more loving and loyal husband, father, son, brother, uncle, and friend,” the obituary said. “Simply put, Johnny McDaniel loved life and loved everyone he knew with his whole heart.”
This comes just days after a Virginia pastor died of the novel coronavirus after fervently criticizing the "mass hysteria" surrounding the deadly contagion.
Landon Spradlin, 66, was in New Orleans to preach to the crowds gathered for Mardi Gras celebrations when he started to feel sick. A month later, the pastor died.
Spradlin, who hailed from Gretna — a small town located halfway between Lynchburg and Danville — was also a renowned musician inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2016.
Speaking to the BBC, Spradlin’s daughter Jesse Spradlin, 28, revealed that "his mission was to go into pubs, clubs, and bars, play the blues and connect with musicians and just tell them that Jesus loved them."
“Mardi Gras is like Times Square in New York during New Year’s Eve. It’s a sea of people just drinking and partying. He was loud and laughing and in his element," she recalled.
While Spradlin began to feel unwell in New Orleans, he initially tested negative for coronavirus. According to a report by Patch, the pastor shared a controversial meme on March 13 comparing coronavirus deaths to swine flu deaths while battling his symptoms at the same time.
The meme reportedly mocked the public reaction to the pandemic as "mass hysteria" and suggested the media was exploiting the outbreak to hurt President Trump's chances in 2020. However, the pastor mentioned in the comments section he believes the coronavirus “is a real issue, but I believe the media is pumping out fear and doing more harm than good.”
“It will come and it will go,” he had written.