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On September 18, Caylor Ellingson, 18, was run over by an SUV by Shannon Brandt, a 41-year-old who claimed to have killed the teen for allegedly being a part of a "Republican extremist group."
A week later, on September 25, North Dakota authorities announced in a press release that beyond the claims made by Shannon Brandt, there was no evidence suggesting that Caylor Ellingson had radical right-wing ties.
According to Meaww, Brandt claimed he was leaving a dance party at a bar in McHenry, North Dakota, when he got into a politically charged verbal altercation with Ellingson. He further claimed that Ellingson identified himself as a right-wing extremist and threatened to call friends to attack the former. The 41-year-old told authorities that, as a result, he was forced to run over the teen in self-defense. Ellingson suffered severe injuries and passed away at a local hospital.
Brandt is being charged with felony counts of criminal vehicular homicide and fleeing the scene of a crash involving a death after the incident.
Caylor Ellingson wanted to be an ultrasound technician
Fox reported that Caylor Ellingson, a recent graduate of Carrington High School's class of 2022, had just begun studying for a career as an ultrasound technician when he was killed.
In an interview with Fox, an anonymous family member of Ellingson's dismissed Brandt's allegations that the teen was a right-wing radical.
The family member said:
"(Caylor Ellingson was) absolitely not an extremist. (He was an) all round great kid."
The person continued:
"It's that's all anybody can talk about right now. I still can't wrap my head around it. I really can't."
In the wake of his death, many Republican politicians identified Ellingson as a young conservative, though the victim's family and relatives have not confirmed the teen's political beliefs.
In an online post, Ted Cruz described Ellingson as a young man who was targeted by leftists for his beliefs.
He wrote:
"Leftist murders a teenager because he was a Republican. Then, he’s promptly released on bail. Twisted. Dems’ hateful rhetoric continues to bear toxic fruit."
In another post, Donald Trump Jr echoed Cruz's sentiments, implicating US President Joe Biden and his recent speech on “extremism” of former President Donald Trump as the prime cause of political violence.
He posted:
"An 18 y/o conservative is murdered by 41 year old leftist & the media is totally silent. No connection to Joe Biden and his insane speech of just 2 weeks ago… it’s as though it never happened & doesn’t matter. Of course Trump would not get that benefit b/c our media is broken!"
In an official statement to the press, North Dakota Highway Patrol Captain Bryan Niewind told reporters that there was no evidence to suggest that Caylor Ellingson was even a Republican, as the verbal altercation may not have been as politically motivated as Brandt claimed.
Niewind said:
"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."
If found guilty of vehicular homicide, Brandt would spend at least 10 years in jail. The case remains under police investigation currently.
