Thu Sep 28, 2023 – 6:46 pm EDT
(LifeSiteNews) – A man who killed a teenager he thought was a “Republican extremist” has been sentenced to less than five years in prison in what critics are calling an example of ideological disparities in the current justice system.
Last year, North Dakota man Shannon Brandt fatally struck 18-year-old Cayler Ellingson, allegedly chasing him through streets after a “street dance.” After hitting Ellingson, Brandt left the scene but returned and called 911, claiming the victim had been “part of a Republican extremist group and was calling people to come get Brandt after a political argument,” local media reported at the time. It was later determined there was “no evidence” Ellingson had any such political ties.
Brandt was found to be drunk at the time of the encounter, and it was suggested during the trial that his autism may have further exacerbated his reaction. The North Dakota State Medical Examiner’s Office later ruled the incident an accident, with Brandt eventually pleading the charges down from murder to manslaughter. Fox News reported that he has been sentenced to just five years in prison, with almost one year shaved off for his
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