Bernell Trammell dead: Was a well known Black Milwaukee Trump supporter shot to death outside his office because of his political beliefs and influence?
A well-known black supporter of President Donald Trump has died after being shot to death ‘execution style’ outside his publishing office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Thursday. No arrests have been made.
Bernell ‘Ras’ Trammell, 60, longtime publisher of eXpressions Journal was gunned down in Riverwest, on the 900 block of East Wright Street, near North Bremen Street at 12:31 p.m, Thursday noon, July 23 the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
Milwaukee police are seeking what they described as ‘unknown suspects.’ The motive remained unclear, including whether the slaying was tied into Trammell’s political beliefs.
Of note, Trammell was shot near the very same spot where he’d given a video interview a few hours earlier explaining why he supported Trump.
Armstrong Ramsone (pen name, Adebisi Agoro) wrote on the site The God Degree that he recorded video interviews with Trammell just hours before his death. ‘Earlier today he had mentioned to me ‘you wouldn’t guess the amount of hate I received from Black people,’ he wrote.
Bernell Trammell was shot in the head execution style broad daylight yesterday in front of his store. He was a God fearing Trump supporting man. Was it because he was a Trump supporter? He didn’t look for fights, he lived a good life. Sick and sad! @GovTonyEvers get it together! pic.twitter.com/Y75V7UODZM
— Stephanie Lee (@Stephan47781670) July 24, 2020
Shot to death over their political beliefs & influence?
‘He’s like a Milwaukee character,’ Ramsone told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Ramsone said Trammell had many signs in his shop, supporting causes ranging from the Black Lives Matter movement to President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign.
‘I have encouraged Afro-Americans from all walks of life and culture here in Wisconsin and particularly here in Milwaukee to vote Donald Trump for this year. Trump 2020. I believe Trump is the sign of the times,’ Trammell says in one of the videos, recorded outside his publishing business just hours before his shooting death.
The shooting led to the Republican Party of Wisconsin issuing the following statement from Chairman Andrew Hitt:
‘It is tragic to learn of the senseless murder of Bernell Trammell, and I offer my sincere condolences to his family and friends. 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 into this heinous crime. No American should fear for their personal safety because of where they live or their political affiliation.’
“It is tragic to learn of the senseless murder of #BernellTrammell & I offer my sincere condolences to his family & friends….No American should fear for their personal safety because of where they live or their political affiliation.” @AndrewHittGOP https://t.co/MPgL6k2koD pic.twitter.com/7UVVbfvfL0
— PARIS (@PARISDENNARD) July 25, 2020
Increasing political polarization
No suspect was in custody Friday. Milwaukee police encouraged anyone with information about the shooting to call (414) 935-7360 or Milwaukee Crime Stoppers at (414) 224-TIPS.
Reggie Moore, director of Milwaukee’s Office of Violence Prevention, said he recently intervened in a dispute between Trammell and a young man. Moore thought the incident was related to a Trump sign that Trammell was carrying.
While police declined to comment, the shooting mirrors increasing political polarization within the United States, as citizens endure a catastrophic decline in fortunes, wealth & mobility with the onset of the coronavirus, while a handful of corporations and their owners paradoxically continue to make stratospheric new wealth.
Underpinning the political sweepstakes at stake, during the 2018 midterms, Wisconsin Democrat Tony Evers defeated Scott Walker, the incumbent governor, by a point—fewer than thirty thousand votes.
As before, Wisconsin will become a focal point in the upcoming Presidential race this fall, which is expected to once again come down to the wire- no less as tensions surrounding the BLM movement and ongoing protests throughout the US as citizens aggrieved by the ongoing coronavirus, police brutality towards minorities and the ongoing widening between the haves and have nots continues to dominate within American society.
