Capt. Bryan Niewind of the North Dakota Highway Patrol, which helped investigate the death, said the political argument claim by Brandt has not been substantiated because the investigation is still ongoing and more witnesses need to be interviewed. The specific details of the alleged argument were not released.
Ellingson's parents later told police they knew Brandt, but they did not believe their son did, the affidavit said. Ellingson's mother described how she was on her way to pick up her son from McHenry when he called her about 2:40 a.m. and asked if she knew Brandt. Ellingson called again a short time later and said "that 'he' or 'they' were chasing him." She could no longer reach him after that, the document said.