Trump Blasts Democrats After Brutal Murder of Ukrainian Refugee in North Carolina
President Donald Trump is calling out Democrats for their failed criminal justice policies after the shocking murder of a young Ukrainian refugee in Charlotte, North Carolina. The victim, 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, was stabbed to death last month on a city light rail train by a repeat offender with a rap sheet spanning more than a decade.
The outrage intensified this weekend when the Charlotte Area Transit System released surveillance footage showing Zarutska boarding the Lynx Blue Line before being ambushed by a man who drew a knife and stabbed her three times, including once fatally in the neck.
President Trump condemned the crime in a statement on his Truth Social platform:
“I have seen the horrific video of a beautiful, young Ukrainian refugee, who came to America to escape the vicious War in Ukraine, and was innocently riding the Metro in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she was brutally ambushed by a mentally deranged lunatic. The perpetrator was a well known career criminal, who had been previously arrested and released on CASHLESS BAIL in January, a total of 14 TIMES. What the hell was he doing riding the train, and walking the streets? Criminals like this need to be LOCKED UP.”
The president did not hold back in assigning blame:
“The blood of this innocent woman can literally be seen dripping from the killer’s knife, and now her blood is on the hands of the Democrats who refuse to put bad people in jail, including Former Disgraced Governor and ‘Wannabe Senator’ Roy Cooper. North Carolina, and every State, needs LAW AND ORDER, and only Republicans will deliver it! Additionally, where is the outrage from the Mainstream Media on this horrible tragedy? VOTE FOR MICHAEL WHATLEY FOR UNITED STATES SENATE, HE WON’T LET THIS HAPPEN AGAIN!”
Trump’s campaign also released his statement on X, emphasizing again that “Criminals like this need to be LOCKED UP.”
The suspect, 34-year-old Decarlos Brown, was arrested after the attack and charged with first-degree murder. Police said Brown had no prior connection to Zarutska and described the stabbing as entirely random. According to records obtained by the New York Post, Brown had a history of felony larceny, armed robbery, and making violent threats — yet was repeatedly released back onto the streets.
The tragedy has already shaken up next year’s U.S. Senate race in North Carolina, where former Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper is running against Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley. Trump’s remarks put Cooper directly in the crosshairs, framing the race as a referendum on law and order.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee echoed Trump’s position, blasting Cooper’s record and stating that his policies “kept violent criminals like this on the streets instead of in jail where they belong.”
Whatley also weighed in on X:
“A vote for Roy Cooper is a vote for more crime, more violence, more criminals.”
Following Trump’s post, Whatley added that the president was “spot on” and pledged to restore real accountability for violent offenders:
“My far-left opponent Roy Cooper’s spineless, soft-on-crime policies have unleashed predators like Decarlos Brown Jr. and countless other violent thugs who unleash hell on innocent people because they know they’ll face no real justice.”
Cooper’s campaign attempted to push back, releasing a statement to Fox News Digital:
“This was a heartbreaking, despicable act of evil and Iryna Zarutska’s family and loved ones are in our prayers. Roy Cooper knows North Carolinians need to be safe in their communities; he spent his career prosecuting violent criminals and drug dealers, increasing the penalties for violence against law enforcement, and keeping thousands of criminals off the streets and behind bars.”
But with Zarutska’s death now fueling national outrage, Democrats face mounting pressure over their soft-on-crime record. The issue of public safety — long a Republican stronghold — is once again dominating the political conversation in a key battleground state.