After he was struck by a Ford Explorer SUV driven by a 41-year-old man, Shannon Brandt, Ellingson was taken to a hospital in Carrington, North Dakota, where he was pronounced dead.
An initial highway patrol report claimed that Brandt said he attacked Ellingson for being part of a "Republican extremist group".
[8] However, on September 22, the charges were upgraded to include murder, a class AA felony, the maximum penalty for which is life imprisonment without parole.
Foster County, North Dakota State's Attorney Kara Brinster moved that the previous charges, including criminal vehicular homicide, be dismissed.
[9][10] Former US president Donald Trump criticized the media for allegedly not giving the killing sufficient coverage.