Marc Bernier, a prominent conservative radio host from Daytona Beach, Florida, who was an outspoken opponent of COVID vaccines and mask mandates, died Saturday after a nearly month-long battle with COVID-19. He was 65 years old.
“It’s with great sadness that WNDB and Southern Stone Communications announce the passing of Marc Bernier, who informed and entertained listeners on WNDB for over 30 years,” the station confirmed on Twitter. “We kindly ask that privacy is given to Marc’s family during this time of grief.”
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood, a regular guest on Marc Bernier’s WNDB radio show, told The Daytona Beach News-Journal that he’s been “numb” since hearing the news. “To me, this is a death in the family,” he said.
Bernier, a native of Rhode Island, moved to the Daytona Beach area three decades ago and became a popular and outspoken voice for conservatism during his three-hour afternoon show at the Florida station — as well as a strident voice against vaccinations of all sorts.
On July 30, Bernier posted what would become his final tweet, in which he compared the U.S. government to Nazis in its push to get people vaccinated.
He was responding to a tweet from Nikki Fried, a Democrat set to run against Florida’s Ron DeSantis next year, who wrote:”The greatest generation had to defeat the Nazis to preserve our way of life, you’re only being asked to get a shot. So be a patriot. Turn off the TV and go get vaccinated.”
In response, Bernier quote-tweeted her post saying, “Should say, ‘Now the US Government is acting like Nazi’s. Get the shot!’”
Bernier was first hospitalized with COVID on August 7, after being off the air and home sick for the week leading up to his admittance, but it was unclear how severe his symptoms were at the time. “I don’t have an update on him at this point, other than he has been hospitalized,” Mark McKinney, the station’s operations director, told the Daytona Beach News Journal at the time.