#Murder of black Trump supporter Bernell Trammell spurs call for federal investigation

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Bernell Trammell, 60, was shot and killed in Milwaukee on Thursday.
Adebisi Agoro

The shooting death of a black Trump supporter in Milwaukee has state Republicans calling for a federal investigation.

Bernell Trammell, 60, a dreadlocked activist known for carrying handmade signs through the streets reading “Vote Donald Trump 2020,” and posting them on his storefront, was gunned down by an unknown assailant on his sidewalk Thursday afternoon, police said.

“Because of Trammell’s well known political activism and the possibility that his murder could be politically motivated, I respectfully request that United States Attorney Matthew Krueger open an investigation,” said Andrew Hitt, chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, late Friday.

“No American should fear for their personal safety because of where they live or their political affiliation,” Hitt added.

Trammell, who ran a small publishing company, recently had a public dispute with a young man over one of his Trump signs, said Reggie Moore, director of Milwaukee’s Office of Violence Prevention, in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

“He’s a black elder who didn’t deserve to die the way that he did,” Moore said.

Trammell explained in a video recorded on the morning of his death that Trump’s respect for rapper Kanye West and former aide Omarosa Manigault Newman made him worthy of support.

“I believe that Trump is the sign of the times,” Trammell told local blogger Armstrong Ransome.

Police had no suspects in custody Friday.