Well one reason is that it's BS... the story never made sense in a town of under 40 people and never passed the sniff test. The dude was just trying to cover up the fact that he was drunk as hell and was also delusional with a well documented past of mental issues. It's a big story up here.
https://www.kfyrtv.com/2022/09/25/little-evidence-political-argument-before-teens-death-mchenry-nd/
Justin McDonald, owner of Buck-It’s Bar & Grill in New Rockford, North Dakota, said he knows the Ellingson family well, and that Cayler’s grandmother worked at the bar for about six years. He said Ellingson enjoyed autocross racing, hunting and being at the family cabin at Lake Juanita when he wasn’t studying to be an ultrasound technician.
McDonald said “there was absolutely nothing political in him that I’ve ever seen,” so he doubts Brandt’s claim that there was a political argument.
“This is absurd because Cayler lives in a town with less than 40 people in it. There’s no Republican, whatever, things going on here,” McDonald said. “This is a community where our number one goal usually for the month is: Who’s down and out, now, let’s help them out."