Outrage over the murder of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on Charlotte's light rail system on August 22nd continues to reverberate not just here in my home city and state but also nationwide, with video of the horrific crime, released Friday, garnering national media attention and pointed commentary from members of the Trump administration.
As RedState reported at the time, Zarutska boarded the train just before 10 pm that night after her shift at a local pizzeria concluded. Less than five minutes later, Zarutska, who was still in her work uniform, was stabbed to death in a random attack by the man sitting behind her, who police have identified as 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr., who has a history of mental health issues, violence, and arrests, and is well known to local law enforcement.
Democrat Mayor Vi Lyles' soft-on-crime statements have been unacceptable, prompting DOT Sec. Sean Duffy to respond accordingly by tweeting, "Charlotte’s Mayor doesn’t want the media to show you the ugly truth [with the video]. Why? Because she and other public officials in her city bear responsibility. "
But Lyles and other Democrat "leaders" in the blue city of Charlotte are not the only ones who enabled this crime to happen. As Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley has pointed out, his opponent, former Gov. Roy Cooper, also shares some of the blame:
DeCarlos Brown Jr., a dangerous career criminal, should have been behind bars years ago, but my opponent Roy Cooper's lenient 2020 executive order kept him on the streets, endangering communities. In June 2020, Cooper signed a soft-on-crime executive order, and just three months later, Brown was released from prison.
Since then, Brown has been arrested and released three additional times between 2021 and 2025, taking full advantage of Cooper's weak policies.
Cooper bears direct responsibility for this heinous act and must answer to the public about why he prioritizes criminals over public safety.
Whatley included a split screen of Cooper touting the "NC Task Force for Racial Equity and Criminal Justice" executive order alongside video snippets from the night of Zarutska's murder:
DeCarlos Brown Jr., a dangerous career criminal, should have been behind bars years ago, but my opponent Roy Cooper's lenient 2020 executive order kept him on the streets, endangering communities. In June 2020, Cooper signed a soft-on-crime executive order, and just three months… pic.twitter.com/WuiYzON4h9
— Michael Whatley (@ChairmanWhatley) September 6, 2025
On Monday, Whatley dropped more receipts on Cooper related to the task force:
In 2020, my Democrat opponent, Roy Cooper, tasked a group of extreme leftists with advising him on implementing his executive order, which introduced weak-on-crime policies to North Carolina's justice system regarding “pretrial release, fees, and fines.”
He told the task force, "I look forward to implementing your strong recommendations."
These policy changes empowered dangerous criminals, such as Decarlos Brown Jr., the murderer of Iryna Zarutska.
In 2020, my Democrat opponent, Roy Cooper, tasked a group of extreme leftists with advising him on implementing his executive order, which introduced weak-on-crime policies to North Carolina's justice system regarding “pretrial release, fees, and fines.”
— Michael Whatley (@ChairmanWhatley) September 8, 2025
He told the task force,… pic.twitter.com/QetgtHVB8s
Incredibly, though it's been over two weeks since this high-profile murder was committed, Cooper himself has yet to issue a single statement on it as of this writing. In fact, the only thing coming out of Cooper's campaign on it has been to accuse Whatley of "lying" about his clear record of being soft on criminals.
And here are 3,500 other examples:https://t.co/Z9yto1VUuc
— Whatley War Room (@whatleywarroom) September 8, 2025
There was also this:
Dem Gov. Roy Cooper kept Decarlos Brown Jr. on the streets despite 14 arrests, including for violent crimes.
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) September 8, 2025
And of course, George Soros was a major donor to Cooper's campaign.
Roy Cooper is a pro-criminal, Soros Democrat who cares more about criminals than victims. pic.twitter.com/chTnggsMa5
Dear Roy and other NC Democrats: The facts don't care about your feelings. Sincerely -- me.
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