The Justice Department has brought federal charges against a man with a long criminal record in connection with the fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian refugee on a Charlotte light rail train, a case that has quickly become central to the White House’s campaign against violent crime in cities led by Democrats.
Prosecutors allege that 34-year-old Decarlos Brown fatally attacked 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska in an unprovoked assault inside a rail car last month. He is accused of committing an act causing death on a mass transit system, a federal crime that carries the possibility of the death penalty. In North Carolina, Brown also faces a first-degree murder charge. According to a supporting affidavit, he used a pocketknife during the killing, which was later recovered near the train platform.
U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson said Tuesday that the investigation is ongoing and that Brown could face further charges. The attack, described as gruesome, has been seized upon by President Donald Trump and senior administration officials as evidence that Democratic leadership has left cities vulnerable to crime. Attorney General Pam Bondi and others have condemned urban leaders as incapable of keeping residents safe, pointing to newly released video of the stabbing and Brown’s criminal record as proof. Trump has even cited the incident as justification for deploying federal forces to major cities, with Chicago named as an imminent target.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, speaking on Fox News after the charges were unveiled, called the murder “a stark example” of failed liberal policies. He accused Charlotte’s Democratic leadership of enabling Brown to remain free despite his extensive criminal past, adding that if local leaders cannot maintain public safety, the federal government will intervene.
The criticism comes as Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, a Democrat, secured her party’s nomination for a fifth two-year term. Although she faces Republican and Libertarian challengers in November, the city has been governed by Democrats for more than a decade.
Bondi pledged that prosecutors would seek the harshest possible punishment for Brown, either the death penalty or life in prison, insisting that he would “never again see the light of day as a free man.” FBI Director Kash Patel echoed the sentiment, labeling the crime “brutal” and “disgraceful.”
Court filings and family accounts paint a picture of a troubled man with a long history of crime. Brown has previous convictions for armed robbery, felony larceny, and breaking and entering. Relatives told CNN he has also battled mental health issues, with his sister suggesting he may have suffered a breakdown on the night of the stabbing.
According to state records, Brown previously served more than five years in prison for armed robbery. Beyond the current homicide case, he has been linked to 14 other matters in North Carolina dating back to 2011, including minor charges such as speeding and shoplifting. It remains unclear how many of those cases resulted in prosecution.
Earlier this year, he faced a misdemeanor charge for misusing 911 after allegedly asking police to investigate what he described as a “man-made” substance that controlled his eating, walking, and speaking. Officers told him they could not help, noting the issue was medical in nature. Frustrated, he called 911 again, court filings state. He was later released on the condition that he return for a scheduled hearing. The White House has since condemned that decision, saying it left him “free to slaughter an innocent woman just months later.”
The victim, 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, was returning home from work on her usual light-rail route when she was attacked, U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson said. Originally from Kyiv, she had earned a degree in art and restoration and was pursuing her dream of becoming a veterinary assistant. Before leaving Ukraine, she had been forced to live in a bomb shelter. In the United States, she had recently moved in with her partner and was starting a new chapter of her life.
Her family grew worried when she failed to come home after texting her boyfriend. “We are heartbroken beyond words. Iryna came here to find peace and safety, and instead her life was stolen from her in the most horrific way,” a family spokesperson told WSOC.
Ferguson, visibly moved after speaking with her relatives, emphasized that the case is not about politics. “She was building her young life,” he said. When the Ukrainian Embassy offered assistance to return her body to Kyiv, her family declined, explaining that America had become her home and should remain her final resting place.
Responding to claims that the case has been politicized, Ferguson pushed back. “If this was a political grandstand, there would be another side. Is the other side that we should allow murders on light rail? Or that we should let people out of prison so they can commit new crimes?” he asked. “There is no other side. There is no politics here. This is purely a federal case.”
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