(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 house arrest, after which he will have another three years of supervised probation.
“I’m here to take responsibility for the role I played in this tragedy,” he said before sentencing. “I’ve very sorry to the Ellingson family, my family, and anybody else that has been affected by my actions. I have always enjoyed seeing the Ellingsons and would never have intentionally caused harm to any of them. I am truly devastated by the impact this has had on the entire community.”
But the sentence was insufficient in the eyes of the victim’s mother, Sheri Ellingson, who had wanted Brandt to receive the manslaughter maximum of 10 years.
“Shannon, you took a piece of our family that’s not replaceable,” she said. “When you chose to take Cayler’s life and happiness, you took ours too. You have caused our family endless pain, heartache, sleepless nights. Our days, months, and years will never be the same because of your selfishness.”
There is a good chance that the 74 year-old woman who sat in front of an abortion clinic will get more jail time than the guy who killed a kid for being a Republicanhttps://t.co/J1wOVlaQ47
— PoIiMath (@politicalmath) September 20, 2023
The sentence in this case contrasts sharply with penalties that have been sought and obtained for far lesser offenses in which the political implications went in the opposite direction, from the U.S. Department of Justice unsuccessfully seeking 11 years against pro-life activist Mark Houck for pushing away a pro-abortion agitator to the federal government seeking 20-year sentences for “impeding” congressional certification of the 2020 election results on January 6, 2021.