Avid Trump supporter shot dead in broad daylight

FPI / July 27, 2020

A 60-year-old Milwaukee resident who was an avid supporter of President Donald Trump was shot and killed on Thursday afternoon outside his business.

Bernell Trammell owned and ran eXpressions Journal in the city's Riverwest neighborhood. The storefront was covered in “Vote Donald Trump 2020,” and “Re-Elect Trump 2020” signs. The suspect reportedly drove up, shot Trammell, and drove away, police say.

Law enforcement sources told “The Dan O’Donnell Show” that they do not yet know the motive for the murder, since they have not yet made any arrests, but “detectives are investigating the possibility that Trammell was killed over his political beliefs.”

Reggie Moore, Milwaukee Office of Violence Prevention director, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he had “intervened in a dispute between Trammel and a young man” that he thought was “related to a Trump sign that Trammell was carrying.”

It is unclear if the altercation was a factor in his death.

The Republican party of Wisconsin said the “senseless” murder may have been politically motivated and called upon federal investigators to become involved.

“I had an interaction with him last Saturday across the street from Walmart on Capitol Drive,” one woman who did not wish to be identified told the O'Donnell radio show. “It was the second time I had seen him with his Trump sign and I pulled my car over to chat with him. What a nice, friendly man! We chatted for several minutes, and I told him I was proud of him and he’s very brave to put himself out there so visibly as a Trump supporter!”

Videos on the eXpressions Journal YouTube channel show Trammell standing along the street, speaking about religious teachings and encouraging people to "repent."

Local blogger Adebisi Agoro told the Journal Sentinel that Trammell was "like a Milwaukee character. He was a positive guy. I didn't see him being mean or violent at all toward anybody while he was outside with his signs."

John Self told local CBS58 that he had many conversations with Trammell over the years inside his business.

"He believed in democracy. He believed in his right to free speech," Self said. "I don't think he ever once tried to convert you or change you. He would just tell you what he thought, he would listen to what you had to think, and then he would respect that."

Free Press International