Haire Restores Mural Of Late Annapolis Rapper After Stolen Campain Sign Damages It

ANNAPOLIS, MD — A stolen campaign sign defaced and damaged the mural of a late Annapolis rapper, multiple reports said Thursday.

Photos show that the campaign sign was for Jessica Haire, the Republican nominee for county executive. The mural honored Edward Montre Seay, also known as Tre Da Kid. The rapper was fatally shot in Annapolis in 2019.

Haire said her "campaign did not commit this despicable and disrespectful act." She later helped clean up the mural with community leaders.

"I want to make this very clear – I am sickened by this act of vandalism and have personally contacted the police and asked them to investigate it," Haire said on Facebook. "Sadly, this was done by someone more interested in dividing people and communities than bringing them together. That is something I will never support and always fight against."

Several posts surfaced Thursday afternoon showing Haire's campaign sign covering Seay's eyes in the mural.

Twitter user @jourdak said they visited the mural. The user said it "looks like they used some sort of grease paint as adhesive." They also speculated that it may "take a *lot* of elbow grease to get it off."

The campaign sign is now gone, but some residue remained.

Community Reacts

Some community members expressed their frustration on social media.

Annapolis resident Phyllis Tee Adams called it "an all time low" for Haire.

"This is definitely a black mark as far as your campaign goes," Adams said Thursday on Facebook.

Adams went to the mural Friday morning and found Haire cleaning up the mural with local artist Comacell Brown Jr., who also goes by Cell Spitfire.

"She profusely apologized and said she does not condone this and she responded immediately," Adams told Patch on Friday. "Even in his death Tra da Kid is teaching lessons. 'The Love Always Overpowers The Hate'. Let this be a lesson for us all."

Les Michelle, who said she is Seay's sister, is watching to see how Haire responds.

"Our family has suffered a tremendous loss," Michelle commented on Haire's post. "We will not tolerate this. My brother didn't deserve to die in this manner, and he doesn't deserve to be disrespected in his death."

Others thanked Haire for addressing the vandalism promptly.

"Proud of you for stepping up and quickly addressing the matter," said Annapolis resident Andre Pantelides. "Tre Da Kid’s family has suffered so much."

Andre Pantelides is the uncle of County Council District 6 candidate Mike Pantelides (R). Mike Pantelides is a former Annapolis mayor who now hopes to represent the area on the County Council.

Mike Pantelites did not post about the mural defacing by the time this story was published.

His Democratic opponent, incumbent Lisa Rodvien, offered her support on Facebook. She said the vandalism "was despicable, heartless, and cruel."

"I am deeply saddened that someone defaced the TreDaKid mural," Rodvien said on Facebook. "He was a beloved member of our community and the heartache caused by his untimely death will linger for his loved ones for a very long time."

Haire's opponent, County Executive Steuart Pittman, and Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley did not post about the incident before publication.

Remembering Tre Da Kid

Seay won the Verizon #Freestyle50 rap contest in 2016. That victory earned Seay $10,000 and a contract with hip-hop label 300 Entertainment, CNN reported.

CNN journalist Amir Vera said Seay released his single from the contest, called "Run It," in 2017. That song has nearly 1.4 million streams on Spotify.

Seay was fatally shot while driving through Annapolis in June 2019, CNN said. He was 32.

Jeff Huntington, also known as Jahru, painted the mural in Seay's honor. The mural is located where Seay was killed on Forest Drive.