Who was Steve Alembik? Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis supporter who racially targeted Obama dies in attempted murder-suicide
MIAMI, FLORIDA: Steve Alembik, a donor to Donald Trump and Florida Gov Ron DeSantis, who also targetted a racist tweet towards former President Barack Obama, died last week in an attempted murder-suicide.
Alembik, 72, allegedly shot himself and an unnamed woman in the parking lot of a BurgerFi location in Delray Beach on October 10, according to the Miami Herald.
The 40-year-old individual, who entered a fast food restaurant with gunshot injuries to her arm and back and was subsequently transported to a nearby hospital, is believed to be Alembik's wife.
Steve Alembik donated more than $200,000 in political contributions
According to his LinkedIn profile, Amelmbik was the co-founder and chief data scientist at SMA Communications, a Boca Raton company that provides data for businesses, political campaigns, organizations, and governmental agencies.
Alembik reportedly donated more than $200,000 in political contributions over the last 20 years, primarily to Republicans, including thousands of dollars to both Trump and DeSantis, as per the Miami Herald.
From targeting Barack Obama to abuse claims, Steve Alembik's controversies
Alembik, who founded a digital marketing firm in Boca Raton, drew criticism in 2018 for calling former President Barack Obama a "f*****g Muslim N-word" on X (formerly Twitter) and claiming then-Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg "can’t die soon enough," as per Newsweek.
Later, Alembik reportedly asserted that he was not racist and expressed regret for the tweet, but maintained that he should be permitted to use the N-word.
At the time of the controversial tweet, Alembik, known for his flamboyant flag suit, made donations to both then-Florida Governor Rick Scott, who was running for a Senate seat, and DeSantis, who was competing to succeed Scott as governor.
Subsequently, both Scott's and DeSantis' campaigns distanced themselves from Alembik. Scott stated that he had directed the $1,100 he received from Alembik to Shriners Hospital.
A political action committee supporting DeSantis' campaign also returned $11,000 in contributions it had received from Alembik.
However, the DeSantis campaign noted that $4,000 given separately had already been utilized and couldn't be reimbursed.
Despite these financial actions, the campaign strongly condemned the tweet and announced that it would no longer accept any contributions from Alembik, as reported by the Miami Herald.
According to state records, Alembik donated over $5,000 to the governor's reelection campaign in 2021 and 2022, and to a state political committee that supported the campaign, 'Friends of Ron DeSantis.'
In 2017, Alembik reportedly made headlines when he relocated a charity gala for his newly established pro-Israel nonprofit, 'Truth About Israel,' to Mar-a-Lago.
This decision came after nearly 20 prominent charitable organizations had canceled their events in response to President Trump's statement that there were "many fine people" in Charlottesville, as reported by the Washington Post.
At the Mar-a-Lago event, one of the featured speakers was then-Congressman DeSantis.
According to the Miami Herald, Alembik had previously faced an arrest in December 2018 on suspicion of domestic abuse, but the charges were ultimately dismissed as a result of pre-trial diversion.
Steve Alembik's identity was revealed days after tragic murder-suicide incident
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office revealed on Tuesday, October 17, that Alembik died in an attempted murder-suicide last week, however, his identity was revealed only 8 days after the tragic incident took place.
Eight days ago, Alembik shot a woman before killing himself in a parking lot behind the Burger Fi restaurant, located at 7959 West Atlantic Avenue, west of Delray Beach.
Alembik's identity wasn't made known until October 13 in the Boca Raton News, a week after the shooting at a Burgerfi location in Delray Beach.