A son of Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., has been sentenced to 28 years in prison after leading authorities on a high-speed chase that ended with a crash in which a sheriff’s deputy was killed.
Ian Cramer, then 42, had been taken by his mother to a hospital for a mental health evaluation in December 2023 when he took her vehicle and fled, according to authorities in North Dakota. A pursuit ensued, and Cramer ultimately drove head-on into an unoccupied patrol vehicle, which fatally struck Deputy Paul Martin.
Cramer admitted using methamphetamine and bath salts on the day of the crash, prosecutors said. In September, he pleaded guilty to homicide while fleeing a peace officer, fleeing a peace officer, preventing arrest, reckless endangerment, driving under suspension, possession of methamphetamine, possession of cocaine, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.
At the time of the crash, Sen. Cramer issued a statement saying that his son suffers from “serious mental disorders which manifest in severe paranoia and hallucinations.” The judge who handed down the sentence Monday gave Ian Cramer a glimmer of hope, saying: “These are not mandatory minimums, which means that you’re probably going to serve a small portion of that 28 years and be out on parole.” (A spokesperson for the senator did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.)
This whole tragic situation may feel a bit ironic considering Cramer’s yearslong attacks on Hunter Biden, as Republicans were spreading bogus conspiracy theories that the Biden family was engaged in corruption — and attacking the president’s son over his addiction.
And you may also have noticed that this incident hasn’t garnered anything resembling the sort of politicized backlash we’ve learned to expect from conservatives like Cramer when others — say, immigrants and nonwhite people — commit violent crimes, particularly against police. For example, there’s been no effort in the right-wing media to portray Ian Cramer as a monster, certainly no performative kvetching from Sean Hannity and the like.
There’s been no effort in the right-wing media to portray Ian Cramer as a monster, certainly no performative kvetching from Sean Hannity and the like.
Instead, it almost seems as if this incident is being treated as a family issue for Cramer to handle in-house. In principle, I suppose I’m fine with that. I don’t believe a father is necessarily responsible for their son’s wrongdoing, especially when those actions reportedly are tied to mental health and addiction.
That’s why Cramer and his GOP colleagues’ Hunter Biden infatuation has been so sickening, in my opinion. But the Cramer family’s situation is noteworthy given the Republican Party’s tendency to politicize crime — real crime, as well as imagined crime.
It feels safe to assume that Republicans — and the conservative media ecosystem — would be handling this whole thing differently if it were a Democrat involved.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.