They also received numerous threatening letters, said Mrs. Brandt-Duda. She said one was written in the margins of an article about the incident from The New York Post. The newspaper covered the matter extensively and also published an opinion column arguing that “the president of the United States, backed by female media fans, utters irresponsible rhetoric that led to Ellingson’s death.”
“Everything just exploded,” said Mrs. Brandt-Duda.
According to many local officials, the county court and sheriff’s offices have also received numerous threats. On September 29, 11 days after Mr. Ellingson’s death, County Attorney Kara Brinster dropped the initial charge of vehicular homicide, which is used in drunk driving fatalities, in favor of a new one: intentional homicide, which carries a life sentence in prison.
Ms Brinster did not respond to requests for comment on the decision.
Then, as quickly as it grew, the media frenzy subsided. Fox Digital, the television network’s online arm, continued to publish articles that corroborated the more complicated story that officials had revealed. But Fox News hosts did not mention the case again on the air after September 30.
Asked for comment, Fox spokeswoman Jessica Ketner noted the company’s articles online but did not comment on the network’s television coverage.
Gateway Pundit also stopped publishing articles on the matter. Politicians who spoke quickly seemed to lose interest. Mr. Trump, Mrs. Greene, Mr. Jordan and Mr. Wrigley, the Attorney General of North Dakota, did not respond to requests for comment.
