The police investigating the murder of North Dakota teenager Cayler Ellingson have said that the killing was not political, contrary to the killer’s own statements describing the victim as a “Republican extremist.”
In a puzzling comment that was reported by Fox News, the cops said there’s “no evidence” that Shannon Brandt, 41, had a political motive when he ran over 18-year-old Ellingson with his SUV outside a McHenry bar the early morning of September 18.
Murder followed “political argument”
Brandt, who had been drinking, told 911 he had hit Ellingson following a “political argument” and that he felt threatened by Ellingson, who he called a “Republican extremist.” The suspect had fled the crime scene before returning and calling the cops.
“Brandt admitted to State Radio that he hit the pedestrian and that the pedestrian was part of a Republican extremist group,” the affidavit said.
Ellingson called his mother twice, to ask if she knew who Brandt was and to say that Brandt was chasing him. Brandt had told police that Ellingson was “calling people to come get him.”
Cops barking up wrong tree?
Despite Ellingson’s comments, North Dakota Highway Patrol Captain Bryan Niewind told Fox News Digital that there’s “no evidence” that politics played any role in the slaying. The police did not elaborate, but they also oddly went out of their way to say that Ellingson was not a Republican extremist.
“We have uncovered no evidence to support Mr. Brandt’s claim on the 911 call he made that Cayler Ellingson is a Republican extremist, nor that this incident involved politics,” Niewind said.
Of course, even if Ellingson were a right-wing extremist, that wouldn’t mean he deserved to be murdered. The police seem to be barking up the wrong tree, here.
Killer out on bail, shows no remorse
Republican lawmakers and former President Trump say that Ellingson’s murder was inspired by the radical, divisive rhetoric of President Joe Biden, who in a recent speech declared that “MAGA Republicans” are a threat to the United States. The liberal media have largely ignored Ellingson’s murder.
Meanwhile, neighbors of Brandt said that he’s a crazy drunk and that he may have made up the story about Ellingson’s politics as an “excuse,” Fox reported.
Brandt, who is out on $50,000 bond with no house arrest or curfew, hasn’t expressed any remorse as he faces charges of criminal vehicular homicide.
“I have a job, a life and a house and things that I don’t exactly want to see go by the wayside — family that are very important to me,” Brandt said.