Two-tier justice system? Absolutely. Joe Biggs, a member of the Proud Boys who dared to shake a fence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has just been sentenced to seventeen years in prison for doing so. And on Friday, a leftist thug named Shannon Brandt was also sentenced. Brandt ran over and killed a teenager, Cayler Ellingson, because he thought Ellingson was a “Republican extremist.” For that, Brandt will serve five years in prison, minus almost a year that he has already served under house arrest. It would be fitting if Brandt and Biggs could be sentenced to the same prison, so that Brandt could say goodbye to Biggs when he gets freed and thank his lucky stars that another “Republican extremist” is safely behind bars.
Fargo, N.D.’s KVRR reported that after Brandt completes his ridiculously light sentence, or whatever portion of it he actually does serve before some leftist judge springs him, “he will then serve a period of supervised release.” Presumably, this will include supervision while he is driving, in case any other “Republican extremists” dare to venture out onto the streets while this maniac is behind the wheel.
Brandt, according to KVRR, was “initially charged with intentional homicide in the case,” which was altogether fitting and proper, as it was based upon “a state trooper’s report that Brandt and Ellingson had gotten in a political argument which escalated.” However, “that report was later discounted, but not before conservative political figures, including former President Donald Trump, and some media outlets seized on it to advance a narrative of left-wing violence.”
Why was this report discounted? Was that decision also politically motivated? After all, court documents note that “Brandt stated that the pedestrian called some people and Brandt was afraid they were coming to get him. Brandt admitted to State Radio that he hit the pedestrian and that the pedestrian was part of a Republican extremist group.” That certainly sounds like left-wing violence, unless you’re a fellow leftist who wants to pretend that this sort of thing doesn’t happen. “The State Medical Examiner’s Office,” KVRR continues, “later concluded it was an accident and that Brandt was trying to escape a confrontation with Ellingson when he ran him over.”
What a coincidence, that Brandt would be involved in an accident involving someone with whom he had just had a political argument. Brandt’s attorney, Mark Friese, insists that his man “stayed on the scene” after hitting Ellingson, but according to a Sept. 2022 report in Fox News, Brandt fled the scene. If that is accurate, it is odd behavior if the whole thing was an accident. Why wouldn’t he stick around, so as to emphasize that he was horrified at the accident, sorry that it happened, and ready as a good citizen to take responsibility?
Even worse, State’s Attorney Kara Brinster “alleged that Brandt’s statements to investigators didn’t align with the evidence in the case and that he didn’t take sufficient accountability for Ellingson’s death.” Nevertheless, she was responsible for the slap on the wrist Brandt has received, as she “requested five years incarceration with credit for time-served and three years of supervised release.” Good thing he just killed a patriot with his car and then may have left the scene; Brandt didn’t have the poor judgment to do something serious, like shake a fence.
The light sentence Brandt received was partly based on the fact that he was diagnosed with autism, “which the experts said impacted his ability to interpret social situations and prompted an exaggerated reaction and response to the confrontation with Ellingson.” But wait a minute: if the whole thing is supposed to be an accident, what “exaggerated reaction and response” did Brant have after his “confrontation with Ellingson”? He was also drinking.
Judge Bradley Cruff didn’t explain that anomaly as he addressed Brandt: “You didn’t intentionally run him over. I acknowledge that. I understand what the experts in this case are saying about how your mind works. And you didn’t intentionally kill Cayler. But he did die. And that’s a result of your alcohol consumption. You recklessly pushed Cayler to the ground with your SUV, you recklessly ran him over, and you recklessly killed him.” That’s an awful lot of recklessness to be an accident. Ellingson’s mother “asked Cruff not to follow the plea agreement and to give Brandt the maximum sentence for manslaughter, which is ten years,” but to no avail.
Brandt addressed the courtroom, professing to be full of contrition and saying, among other things, “I am truly devastated by the impact this has had on the entire community.” And he wasn’t even talking about the impact of our two-tier justice system.
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