Earlier this week, as Matt and Mia covered at length, 18-year-old Cayler Ellingson was killed in McHenry, North Dakota. While 41-year-old Shannon Joseph Brandt was arrested for allegedly killing the teenager, he was freed on a $50,000 bond. If you were turning to the mainstream media for your coverage, though, you might not have heard much about the incident, though.
Fox News Digital spoke with Brandt's neighbors who wished to remain anonymous as they shared sordid details of his past:
One neighbor said that Brandt has been "nuts his whole life" and "should have been in a [mental health] institute."
The neighbor also said Brandt's bail was "extremely low" for what he allegedly did, adding that it should have been higher, and saying that the 41-year-old "had too much to drink" the night of the incident. When Brandt is drunk, the neighbor alleged, he goes on "rampages."
Four of Brandt's neighbors agreed that his mental health contributed to the incident, and said they don't believe the incident was motivated by politics.
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Speaking about the incident, [another] neighbor alleged that Brandt's accusation of Ellingson being part of a "Republican extremist group" was an excuse, and not the reason he allegedly hit the teenager.
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According to documents obtained by Fox News Digital, Brandt has had prior arrests.
He was arrested for unlawful possession of alcohol and fleeing a peace officer on foot in October 2006, and was also arrested for a DUI with actual physical control in February 2002, according to records.
He pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of alcohol and the DUI charge. Court records show a judgment was entered for the charge of fleeing a peace officer, but doesn’t specify if he was found guilty or if the charge was dismissed.
Somehow, as of Saturday evening, The New York Times has still not covered the incident. Making this all the more egregious is that as highlighted on Twitter by user Comfortably Smug, the outlet has covered over 20 stories of "political violence" for the month of September.
If ever there was a story about "political violence," it would be this one. Brandt allegedly killed Ellingson after a "political argument," because, as he admitted to police, he thought that the teen was "part of a Republican extremist group." As Mia mentioned in her report, though, "no evidence has surfaced corroborating his allegation" when it comes to Ellingson being part of any such a group.
Despite there being no such evidence, that was the narrative that the New York Daily News went with. A Google search of "New York Times Cayler Ellingson" shows coverage from other New York based outlets, because again, there are no stories The New York Times has published about the teen's death.
And this is how the NY Daily News covers it. I was shocked and appalled by the Google result, though the actual headline is only a little less terrible. https://t.co/k4MOjP9Bx7 pic.twitter.com/QjUGIhXW3a
— Rebecca Downs (@RebeccaRoseGold) September 23, 2022
According to Google, the title of Kate Feldman's New York Daily News article is that "Man mowed down teen in 'Republican extremist group.'" The actual article of the title, on the homepage, is not as egregious, but still not much better. "North Dakota man tells police he mowed down teen who was part of 'Republican extremist group,'" it reads. Again, there's no evidence to corroborate that, and at least one of Brandt's neighbors believe it was just an excuse.
During his rally in North Carolina on Friday, former President Donald Trump addressed Ellingson's death, also calling out the mainstream media for their lack of coverage, especially given that it would be widely covered if the politics were reversed.
Thank you, Mr President pic.twitter.com/SdKh0KISce
— Jack Posobiec XLV (@JackPosobiec) September 23, 2022
Another political facet of Ellingson's death is that just weeks before, President Joe Biden had given a speech outside of Independence Hall in Philadelphia in which he demonized his Republican opponents. "#BidenHateSpeech" was trending over Twitter on Friday as a result of the connection.
It does not appear that the White House has spoken about Ellingson's death, though, including during the press briefings that were had this week since the news came out.
What has not gotten enough attention, is that Biden was not the only one to demonize his political opponents, quite possibly spurring on alleged killers like Brandt. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), who is seeking higher office by running for the open U.S. Senate seat currently held by retiring Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) made questionable comments of his own. While calling into "Morning Joe" last Tuesday, Ryan said that we have to "kill and confront that movement" of so-called "extremist Republicans." Ironically, he said so as an aside, while drawing the distinction of which Republicans he was supposedly willing to work across the aisle with.