The 41-year-old North Dakota man, Shannon Brandt, who ran over a teenager with his SUV on September 18, after an alleged political argument, pleaded with the judge not to hold him on bail. Brandt argued that he is not a flight risk and doesn’t want to lose all that matters to him, his family, job and house. The judge, however, released him on $50,000 bond, which is considered low.

Charged with vehicular homicide, Brandt claimed on Monday during the court hearing that he didn’t understand the charges against him and that the bail amount was too high. He was released on September 20 without house arrest or curfew. However, the bail order mandates that Brandt cannot leave North Dakota, drink alcohol, or possess a weapon, and he has to participate in a 24/7 sobriety program with testing. He is also not allowed to approach the family of the victim.

The accused was initially arrested on Sunday after he called 911 to report that he had run over a young man, 18-year-old Cayler Ellingson, who was allegedly threatening him with his truck. In his affidavit, he claimed that the pedestrian had called some people and he was afraid they were coming for him. He admitted to hitting the pedestrian, who he claimed was a part of a Republican radical group.

The first responders who arrived at the scene found Cayler Ellingson on the ground and took him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Responding officers found Brandt at his home in Glenfield, 12 minutes from the scene. During the interrogation, Brandt admitted to drinking alcohol before hitting Ellingson and leaving the crash scene. The breath analyzer test confirmed that his blood-alcohol level was above 0.08, the legal limit.

According to court documents, the victim, Ellingson, called his mother, asking if she knew who Brandt was, to which she replied, yes, and was on the way to pick up her son. However, after a short while, Ellingson called again, saying “they” were chasing him, and that was the last time she heard from her son.

The accused is out on bail. He is due in court on October 11 to enter a plea.