The Defendant SAYS he was scared that the victim would round up some violent seditionists to hurt him?
The victim did mention calling a "posse" in a call to Mom, so maybe the victim did made this threat in an unsuccessful attempt to scare the Defendant off. Or maybe the Defendant is lying. Either way, it's a weak self defense claim to a murder charge, especially because the Defendant RAN OVER THE KID, which establishes a lack of a well founded fear of harm in the Defendant. It's a murder case plain and simple, and it has been widely reported - The Google demonstrates this. Is the outrage because the Defendant isn't being charged as a hate crime for raising this stupid defense? I don't get the political victimization - insurrectionists and white nationalists are not protected classes, so no hate crime here.
Further, "North Dakota Highway Patrol Capt. Bryan Niewind told Fox News Digital that there was “no evidence” suggesting that the teenager was part of a “Republican extremist group” or that the incident involved politics."
Link So the cops don't believe the Defendant and are treating this as a murder case.
Oh, and have you seen the victim? The Defendant looks a lot more like a MAGA storm the Capitol type. Judging by the photos, I think it's just as likely that this argument escalated out of the Defendant calling the victim something derogatory over his appearance. Will MAGA jump in to defend the victim's honor if this all started because the Defendant called the victim gay, and this actually DOES get charged as a hate crime? It's ALL speculation, and my point is that there are other witnesses out there (it began at a crowded street party) and other facts that will come to light as this case winds through the judicial system. Perhaps we should see how it plays out before jumping to conclusions or demonizing anyone.