Politically motivated murder
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(tl;dr - the SUV didn't drive itself)
Driver admitted to intentionally killing teen at North Dakota street dance after political dispute
MCHENRY, N.D. — According to court papers, it was not an accident but apparently a politically motivated attack.
The fatal vehicle-pedestrian incident happened early Sunday morning, Sept. 18, in McHenry, North Dakota, about 120 miles northwest of Fargo and 54 miles north of Jamestown.
Prosecutors allege moments before he was killed, 18-year-old Cayler Ellingson called his mom to come rescue him because 41-year-old Shannon Brandt was chasing him in the city of McHenry, where the street dance had just wrapped up.
By the time she could get there, her son was dead.
Brandt was officially charged Monday with vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a deadly accident.
"He was the one who called 911 to report the crash," said North Dakota Highway Patrol Capt. Bryan Niewind.
Court papers show Brandt called 911 around 2:30 a.m. Sunday and told the 911 dispatcher that he just hit Ellingson, claiming the teen was part of a Republican extremist group and was calling people to come get Brandt after a political argument.
Ellingson's mom told police her son called her just before the crash, asking if she knew Brandt, which she does. She does not believe her son knew him.
"We are still trying to determine what, exactly, transpired at the time of crash and prior to that as well," explained Niewind.
Police say Brandt was drunk when he hit and killed Ellingson with his SUV in an alleyway.
"We do not know of any witnesses. We are still making attempts to interview potential witnesses from the street dance, people that were present prior to the crash happening," Niewind said.
A judge ordered Brandt held on $50,000, which he objected, saying he's not a flight risk.
"I have a job, a life and a house and things I don't want to see go by the wayside — family that are very important to me," Brandt told the judge.
If convicted on the vehicular homicide charge, Brandt would face a minimum of 10 years in prison because of a DUI on his record.
The maximum for the crime is 20 years.
Troopers say as the investigation develops, they could recommend more serious charges.
Will President Biden take responsibility for inciting this violence after his Red Wedding speech two weeks ago?
The alleged murderer was being held, without bail in solitary confinement for this political act.
Just kidding. He was released on $50,000 bail and he promptly started scrubbing his social media presence.
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Indefensible and inexcusable. SUVs are dangerous to us all!
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Five years for a political murder:
https://news.yahoo.com/north-dakota-man-sentenced-5-221435915.html
A North Dakota man was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for running over and killing an 18-year-old after a small-town street dance last year in a case that drew the attention of Donald Trump after the driver initially claimed the teen was a “Republican extremist” who threatened him.
Shannon Brandt, of Glenfield, North Dakota, pleaded guilty in May to manslaughter in connection with Cayler Ellingson's death in September 2022, in McHenry, North Dakota.
Brandt initially claimed he ran Ellingson over after a political argument and that the teen had threatened him and was part of a radical group, according to court documents. Authorities soon afterward said there was little evidence of a political nature to the case.
The case drew national attention and a social media outcry for its alleged political bent. Trump denounced the supposed political circumstances of Ellingson’s death in a rally shortly afterward.
A state district court judge on Friday sentenced Brandt to five years in prison with credit for nearly a year served, followed by three years' supervised probation and a yearlong suspension of his driver's license. The charge's maximum penalty is 10 years in prison, a $20,000 fine or both.
He was initially charged with criminal vehicular homicide, which was later dropped. He was then charged with murder and later pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Brandt had also been charged with leaving the scene of the fatality, since dismissed in a plea deal.
At least the New York Times reported the story, a year later, and made it about Trump.
A Small Town’s Tragedy, Distorted by Trump’s Megaphone
When a teen’s killing became a right-wing talking point, the rush to outrage obscured a more complicated story.
There were no known witnesses when Shannon Brandt and Cayler Ellingson got into an argument in the blurry hours after last call at Buck’s n Doe’s Bar & Grill in September. And no one but Mr. Brandt could say with certainty what led him to run over Mr. Ellingson with his Ford Explorer, crushing him to death in a gravel alley.
But the people of McHenry, a town of 64 in sparsely populated Foster County, N.D., have gotten used to hearing from people who think they know.
