Republicans are calling for a federal investigation into the fatal shooting in Milwaukee of a black man who was a vocal supporter of President Trump.
Bernell Trammell, 60, was killed outside his store on Thursday, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Trammell ran a small publishing company and was well known for standing outside his store and speaking out about religious teachings and politics, including his support for Trump’s reelection campaign.
Milwaukee police are investigating and looking for suspects.
Andrew Hitt, the chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, called for Matthew Krueger, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, to investigate the killing, given the possibility that it was “politically motivated.”
“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,” Hitt said in a statement issued late Friday. “No American should fear for their personal safety because of where they live or their political affiliation.”
Reggie Moore, the director of Milwaukee’s Office of Violence Prevention, said that he had recently intervened in a dispute between Trammell and a younger man. Moore said he believed the confrontation was initiated over a Trump sign that Trammell displayed.
“He’s a black elder who didn’t deserve to die the way that he did,” Moore said, adding that it’s “extremely troubling” he was killed “in front of his home and in front of his shop in broad daylight.”
