A tragic murder, a baseless smear, and the fight for the U.S. Senate

A high-stakes race for an open U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina has gotten nasty very quickly.

Congressman Richard Hudson (R-NC) speaks on the floor of the U.S. House about Iryna Zarutska, who was tragically murdered on a train in Charlotte.

On August 22, Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, was fatally stabbed while riding the train in Charlotte. The horrific attack, which occurred at around 10 p.m. while Zarutska was on her way home from her job at a pizzeria, was unprovoked. Born in Kyiv, she immigrated to the United States in August 2022 as a refugee from the Russian invasion.

Decarlos Brown Jr., a 34-year-old with a long rap sheet and a history of mental illness, has been charged with first-degree murder and could face the death penalty.

In the wake of Zarutska's death, prominent Republicans — including President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi — have blamed Democrats. Trump and many others singled out former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper (D), who is currently running for U.S. Senate.

This argument is completely unfounded.

"Because of irresponsible policies from our former Governor Roy Cooper’s administration, [t]his brutal thug was set free and allowed to terrorize our community again and again," Congressman Richard Hudson (R-NC) wrote on X on September 9. "This tragedy is the direct result of policies that put politics over public safety."

"Iryna Zarutska was a young woman living the American dream — her horrific murder is a direct result of failed soft-on-crime policies that put criminals before innocent people," Attorney General Pam Bondi said in an official Department of Justice statement.

"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," Trump said in a September 8 Truth Social post. According to Trump, Brown was on the streets because he was "released on CASHLESS BAIL in January."

This is false.

In January, Brown was charged with misusing the 911 emergency line. The charge came after Brown, who has a history of mental illness, "told officers that he believed someone gave him man-made material that controlled when he ate, walked and talked." When the officers told Brown they were not able to help him, he became upset and called 911.

Brown was released by a judge without bail, which is a common occurrence for non-violent misdemeanor charges. But even if a judge had incarcerated Brown pending a trial, there is no way that he would have still been incarcerated on August 22. That is because, under North Carolina law, it is a Class 1 Misdemeanor. The maximum sentence for a Class 1 Misdemeanor in North Carolina, even for someone like Brown with multiple prior convictions, is 120 days.

That means Brown could have been incarcerated for no longer than 120 days, regardless of the outcome of the case. Under North Carolina Law, Brown could have remained incarcerated no later than June 2025, months before the stabbing.

The law that established the maximum penalty was ratified by the Republican-dominated North Carolina legislature and signed into law by Governor Pat McCrory in July 2013. So Trump's claim that Brown was on the street in August 2025 because of a judge's decision to release him without cash bail is objectively false.

But what does any of this have to do with Cooper, who Trump says is personally responsible for Zarutska's murder? Cooper's Republican opponent, former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Whatley, laid out the case in a post on X on September 6.

According to Whatley, Brown Jr. would "have been behind bars years ago" but "[i]n June 2020, Cooper signed a soft-on-crime executive order, and just three months later, Brown was released from prison."

Whatley is referring to Brown's conviction for robbery with a dangerous weapon in 2014, which is a felony. He was incarcerated for that crime prior to his conviction and then sentenced to a little more than 6 years in jail. Brown served 100% of his sentence and was then released.

Executive Order 145, which Cooper signed on June 9, 2020, created a task force. That group, known as the Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice, was created to "recommend solutions to stop discriminatory law enforcement and criminal justice practices, and hold public safety officers accountable." Those recommendations, critically, were not even released until December 2020. Brown was released months earlier, in September 2020. So there is no way the recommendations could have had any bearing on Brown's release.

Further, the task force did not establish policy or make law. It simply recommended policies for the legislature to consider. None of the task force's recommendations were ever approved by the legislature. The task force, moreover, did not recommend the early release of any prisoner. It did recommend eliminating cash bail for misdemeanors, but only in circumstances where there was no "risk to public safety."

The claim by Trump and Whatley that Cooper is personally responsible for a gruesome and senseless murder committed by a mentally ill individual is completely baseless. What appears to be driving the claim is not reality, but necessity.

The race between Cooper and Whatley is to replace retiring Republican Senator Thom Tillis. It could determine the balance of power in the Senate in 2027. If Democrats retake the chamber, it could badly derail the remainder of Trump's term.

Recent polls show Cooper with a small but meaningful lead. Trump is seeking an issue that can alter the dynamics of the race, whether it is true or not.