The liberal man who admitting killing Republican teenager Cayler Ellingson with with vehicle has finally been charged with felony murder.
As LifeNews reported, 41-year-old Shannon Brandt ran over Cayler Ellingson with his car following a political dispute in their small North Dakota town. Brandt admitted that he killed Ellingson because of his conservative views.
The killing has prompted national outrage as conservative Americans blamed Joe Biden for his recent fiery speech, where he called conservative Americans “MAGA extremists.”
It also sparked a backlash as the Democrat county attorney in charge of the case merely charged Brandt with vehicular homicide and he was already out on bail after an arrest and appearance in court. Conservative Americans nationwide wanted felony murder charges brought against Brandt and, today, that has happened.
Brandt has been charged with murder in the death of the 18-year-old and the charge has been updated to reflect the fact that he purposefully ran over Ellingson as opposed to merely hitting him accidentally with his vehicle.
“The new charges were filed in district court Friday morning based on information gathered during an investigation by the North Dakota Highway Patrol and the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation which included interviews with people involved and an autopsy of Ellingson at the University Forensic Pathology Center,” according to one local news source.
The maximum term is life imprisonment without parole.
Foster County State’s Attorney Kara Brinster announced on Friday that Brandt is being charged with murder in addition to duty in an accident involving death. Brinster said that the charge of criminal vehicular homicide has been dismissed because of the new murder charge.
Brandt turned himself in on Friday at the Stutsman County Correction Center. The new charges are the result of an investigation by the North Dakota Highway Patrol, Foster County Sheriff’s Department, and the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
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During the 911 call, Brandt “made comments regarding the incident being intentional and not an accident,” according to the affidavit.
An autopsy performed on Ellingson indicated that his injuries were caused by being “ran over” by the SUV, and not by being struck by the front of the car.
The charges against Brandt now include Murder, which is a Class AA Felony, and Duty in Accident Involving Death or Injury, a Class B Felony.
“This is still an ongoing investigation and if any persons have additional information regarding the defendant Shannon Brandt or death of Cayler Ellingson, please contact the Foster County Sheriff’s Department,” Brinster says in a news release.
Over 100 people attended Monday’s funeral for Cayler. Ellingson’s family said that the teenager will “forever be on our minds” and they said he was a “Kind, smart, and big-hearted person.”
According to police, Ellingson called his mom to come help him as Brandt, who was reportedly drunk at the time, followed him with his vehicle after a street dance ended. But by the time she arrived on the scene, he was dead. Brandt called police on himself after the incident and reported that he had killed Ellington. Court papers indicate that Brandt thought Ellison was calling for backup to go after him rather than ask to be rescued.
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.
In the aftermath of the killing, Brandt asked for no bail, saying he has family and a job in town and is 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, according to InForum.
Brandt was released on a $50,000 bail. He posted his $50,000 and was released, according to county jail records.
A gofundme has been set up to help pay for Ellingson’s funeral expenses.
“I would like to set a goal to help Sheri, Cole (husband) and Chase (second son) with Funeral expenses and anything to help them through this whole grieving process,’ reads the GoFundMe account. ‘Please lend a helping hand to help this family in such a huge and tragic loss of Cayler.”
The homicide comes as pro-life groups, pregnancy centers and churches have been subject to a rash of pro-abortion violence.
