New details are emerging from a deadly weekend encounter that began as a political dispute and ended with a 41-year-old man killing an 18-year-old teenager. He admitted his actions were politically motivated.
Shannon Brandt, 41, is now being officially charged with vehicular manslaughter and leaving the scene of a deadly accident in the killing of Cayler Ellingson. Because he has a prior DUI on his record, Brandt faces a minimum of ten years in prison if convicted on the manslaughter charge. The maximum sentence is twenty years, but as more evidence is uncovered police say more charges could still be brought.
The Post Millennial offered a synopsis of what transpired:
According to InForum, Ellingson had been participating in a street dance Saturday night, and when it wrapped up, he noticed that Brandt was following him.
Ellingson called his mother to ask for help, but it was too late. Moments later, Brandt slammed into him with his car in an alleyway, killing the teen.
Brandt later called police himself to report the incident. As InForum reports, he claimed that Ellingson had been part of a “Republican extremist group,” and had ordered others to come after him following a political argument.
According to police, Brandt was drunk at the time, however aside from that, very little is known about what transpired.
“We do not know of any witnesses,” North Dakota Highway Patrol Captain Bryan Niewind said. “We are still making attempts to interview potential witnesses from the street dance, people that were present prior to the crash happening.”
The Post Millennial goes on to note that Brandt and the dead teenager’s mother knew one another.
Politically-motivated attacks against Republicans, specifically those who support Donald Trump, are not new. In 2019, the Daily Wire reported that a black immigrant, of all people, was assaulted in Maryland for having the audacity to wear the iconic, red MAGA hat. He was accosted by two others and told to take it off. When he didn’t he was hit repeatedly in the head. The two attackers allegedly told him “it doesn’t have to be this way,” insinuating it was the victim’s fault for being brutally beaten.
In another recent case, a clash broke out in Portland in 2021 that left a Patriot Prayer supporter dead from gunshot wounds after BLM/Antifa thugs turned violent. The Daily Mail reported that a man was shot to death after getting entangled with two other men. Reportedly, others at the scene declared they weren’t sad a “f***** fasciist died tonight.” President Trump tweeted out condolences for the killed man.
The Post Millennial also noted that a GoFundMe had been set up by a family friend. As of this writing, the account had raised nearly $6,000 dollars to support the family. It reads, in part: “Cayler was taken way too soon from them and their other son Chases Life A thing no parent should ever have to endure in their life, is to lose a child. Cayler has went to heaven and will be missed by his Mom, Dad, Brother, Uncles, Aunts, cousins many Family and Friends.”
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