Young Conservatives Mourn Teen Death

MCHENRY – After the tragic death of Cayler Ellingson, 18, who was hit in McHenry Sunday by a man who said he drove his vehicle into the teen after an alleged political argument, young conservatives and members of the North Dakota Young Republicans expressed their sorrow over his death. 

According to the Associated Press, the driver, Shannon Brandt, 41, said he hit Ellingson because the teen was threatening him and was part of a “Republican extremist group.” The North Dakota Highway Patrol said there is no evidence that it was politically motivated at all, according to the Associated Press. 

The North Dakota Young Republicans officially responded to the death on their website, saying they are people first, family first, and Americans first. 

“This problem is rooted in fearful and deceitful rhetoric; a problem that makes America’s enemies and the devil himself grin from ear to ear; a problem exacerbated by identity politics to the point of eruption; instigated by very influential people with very real consequences and tragically very real suffering the likes of which many people, sadly, lack the empathy to fully comprehend,” said the NDYR Leadership Team.