LOS ANGELES (KNX) – Outspoken vaccine mandate opponent and Orange County Deputy District Attorney Kelly Ernby died from COVID-19 on Monday, multiple outlets reported.
During her time as an O.C. Deputy District Attorney, Ernby worked on cases involving consumer protection and environmental law, the Orange County Register reported.
The outlet also reported that she worked on the Orange County Environmental Law Enforcement Task Force, the California Consumer Protection Council, as well as the California Military Consumer Protection Task Force.
In 2020, Ernby ran for state Assembly in the 74th District as a Republican, coming in second place, according to the Los Angeles Times.
On Monday, colleagues took to social media to remember Ernby, with District Attorney Todd Spitzer calling her an “incredibly vibrant and passionate attorney.”
“It was an absolute privilege to fight the good fight alongside Kelly,” he tweeted. “Her passion and her shining light will be forever missed.”
“What a passionate and devoted conservative. After losing a bid for the Assembly two years ago she channeled her energy into a new challenge as Precinct Chair for the OCGOP,” Jon Fleischman, the former executive director of the California Republican Party, tweeted.
Fleischman told the L.A. Times that Ernby told him she has COVID-19 over text.
“Kelly and I spent a lot of time together on the campaign trail in 2020,” Brian Burley, a congressional candidate for U.S. House District 45, tweeted. “She was one of the few people in politics that always came across as real, authentic, caring and passionate.”
Throughout the pandemic, Ernby voiced opposition to the COVID-19 vaccination mandate. In a rally against the mandate at Irvine City Hall on Dec. 4, Ernby compared “people losing freedom to socialist ideas” in the 1960’s to the present day, according to the Daily Titan.
“There’s nothing that matters more than our freedoms right now,” she said.
Ernby was 46 years old.
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