Free Republic

Republicans argue that a deadly stabbing in North Carolina that gained national attention is a perfect illustration of why the Trump administration’s tough-on-crime agenda is necessary. But Sen. Thom Tillis doesn’t want Charlotte to be next on the list for a federalized crackdown. “We do have challenges, but there are far more major metropolitan areas that we could focus our attention before you go to Charlotte,” Tillis, the outgoing Republican senator, told reporters Tuesday in response to a question from NOTUS. “I hope that people don’t amplify this into something.” “I haven’t seen any evidence that they’re going to focus...

A Fox News presenter suggested during a live segment that people struggling with homelessness and mental health issues should be executed. Brian Kilmeade made the comments on the network's flagship talk show Fox and Friends on Wednesday alongside co-hosts Lawrence Jones and Ainsley Earhardt. The trio had been discussing the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska who was killed while on a bus when Kilmeade made the now heavily criticized remark. Jones suggested that people not taking up programs to help those battling mental health and homelessness should be locked up, when Kilmeade went nuclear. 'Or involuntary lethal or something,...

North Carolina Republicans are blaming Democrats' "woke" policies and lenient crime enforcement for the fatal stabbing of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte, North Carolina, light-rail train. Meanwhile, former Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, is firing back, accusing Republicans of politicizing a tragedy. Republican leaders in Charlotte held a joint news conference on Wednesday during which they condemned Democratic leaders' "woke" policies and "ongoing failures" that they say contributed to Zarutska's tragic death last month. Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, was arrested on Aug. 22 after police say he stabbed Zarutska three times while riding the Lynx Blue Line...

During a phone call recorded by his sister and shared with the Daily Mail, Decarlos Brown explained what was going through his mind when he launched the fatal attack.The knifeman who allegedly killed Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska has spoken for the first time from jail in a harrowing phone call recorded by his sister. Decarlos Brown, 34, was seen in surveillance footage lunging at Zarutska, 23, from behind as she sat scrolling on her phone on a train through Charlotte on August 22. The disturbing video has sparked widespread grief, anger, and questions about public safety in the Democrat-led city...

President Trump made a Truth Social post on Wednesday morning, calling for the death penalty for Decarlos Brown Jr., a black man who murdered murdered 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska in what was likely a hate crime. The Trump Administration is seeking either life in prison or death for the deranged murderer after federally charging him federally for the murder.“There can be no other option,” but death, Trump said this morning.Trump also addressed the senseless murder from the Oval Office on Tuesday, vowing to make America safe again and calling out radical left judges, politicians, and activists for promoting the...

The deranged homeless man charged with butchering a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee on a Charlotte train was free on cashless bail after a magistrate released him with just a “written promise” to show up for court — despite a nearly two-decade history of violence and mental illness. Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, was arrested at least 14 times in North Carolina for crimes ranging from assault and firearms possession to felony robbery and larceny dating back to 2007. His own mother told local TV station WSOC that her son was schizophrenic and should never have been allowed to roam the streets. Horrifying...

In the last few days the horrific stabbing death of Iryna Zarutska by oft-arrested offender Decarlos Brown, Jr. on a Charlotte, NC, commuter train finally broke into the national conversation. National media — aside from this newspaper — studiously ignored the heinous Aug. 22 attack, while Wikipedia’s editors did their best to airbrush it. Why? Because they run interference for Democrats, and the story is political nitroglycerine. Not only did this brutal murder of a white woman by a black man turn the Democrats’ racial narrative on its head, it underscored and boosted President Donald Trump’s messaging on urban crime....

Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes is not qualified to practice as a lawyer in the state of North Carolina, according to the state's database of registered lawyers. The revelation comes after it was reported that Stokes released Decarlos Brown on cashless bail after his last brush with the law before he was charged with stabbing 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska to death in August. When Stoke's name is entered into the North Carolina State Bar lawyer look-up tool, an error is presented, indicating the judge, although overseeing a magistrate court, does not have the ability to practice law as a lawyer professionally in...

Gruesome video shows a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee getting stabbed to death on a Charlotte light rail train – a case that has turned into a flashpoint as the Trump administration vows to crack down on crime in large, predominantly Democratic cities. The attack happened shortly before 10 p.m. August 22, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said. A caller said a woman was stabbed in the throat. The victim, Iryna Zarutska, is a refugee who recently fled from war-torn Ukraine, CNN affiliate WBTV reported. Video of the attack shows Zarutska entering a train car and taking a seat directly in front of...

Former North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s record on criminal justice is being scrutinized by Republicans seeking to derail his campaign to claim a Senate seat. Cooper, a popular two-term governor, launched a bid in July to replace outgoing Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC). Days later, then-Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley announced a campaign challenging the former governor as the GOP fights to keep the Senate seat red. In the wake of a violent crime against a Ukrainian refugee captured on video that has shaken the state, Whatley and other Republicans are seeking to use the gruesome incident to argue...

A Charlotte, North Carolina, city councilman said Tuesday that he doesn't believe that the Trump administration should send in National Guard troops in the aftermath of the fatal stabbing of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska.

Decarlos Brown Jr. had 14 arrests before allegedly stabbing Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska to death. The FBI announced Tuesday that Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr., the suspect in the stabbing death of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a North Carolina train, has been federally charged with one count of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system. "The brutal attack on Iryna Zarutska on the Charlotte Light Rail was a disgraceful act that should never happen in America," FBI Director Kash Patel said. "The FBI jumped to assist in this investigation immediately to ensure justice is served, and the...

Carrying a firearm on Charlotte's public transit system, operated by the Charlotte Area Transit System, is prohibited by a local no-carry law, even if you have a concealed carry permit. While North Carolina generally permits open carry and concealed carry with a permit, CATS has its own local restriction prohibiting firearms.

The man who allegedly fatally stabbed a Ukrainian refugee on a Charlotte, North Carolina, train can be heard saying "I got that white girl" while other passengers sat and stood by. It has been reported that Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old who fled Ukraine in 2022, was fatally stabbed on Aug. 22. Authorities have charged career criminal Decarlos Brown Jr. in connection with her death. The killing gained national attention during the weekend after authorities released surveillance video of the incident. "I didn't notice until now that the man accused of stabbing and killing the Ukrainian young woman in Charlotte, N.C....

Two North Carolina constitutional amendments approved by voters — including a photo voter identification mandate — are enforceable, a trial court panel ruled three years after appeals judges declared they could be nullified because state lawmakers who helped put them on 2018 ballots came from districts tainted by illegal racial bias. A panel of three Superior Court judges agreed late last week with GOP legislative leaders who wanted dismissed a lawsuit that focused on whether certain legislative actions could be voided if enough General Assembly members elected from racially gerrymandered districts swayed the outcome. The amendment referendums were put on...

Teresa Stokes, the last judge to release Decarlos Brown Jr. (a homeless, violent schizophrenic with a lengthy criminal rap sheet) earlier this year, is a woman of many hats. Not only is she an activist judge who makes decisions based on a progressive perspective of criminality, uses her gavel to mete out “reparative” and “equitable” justice—as evidenced by the no-cash bail release for a perp like Decarlos in January—but she’s also apparently the Director of Operations for a mental health and addiction clinic in her very own community. 🚨 NEW: Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes, who RELEASED 14-time criminal DeCarlos Brown...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Video footage released Friday shows the moments leading up to and following the deadly August stabbing of a woman on the Charlotte light rail. WBTV on Friday, Sept. 5 obtained surveillance video of a deadly stabbing that happened two weeks earlier on the Lynx Blue Line light rail system in Charlotte, North Carolina. You can watch our edit of that video below. At around 9:50 p.m. on Aug. 22, a light rail passenger stabbed Iryna Zarutska, 23, several times. Officials said she was stabbed in the throat at least one time. Zarutska was pronounced dead on...

Those who get their news primarily from the social media platform X were flooded over the weekend with posts about the killing of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee stabbed to death on a Charlotte, N.C., light rail train........ Musk also said stories like Zarutska's are "sorely needed" to expose failures in the justice system, and warned his followers about "the magnitude of legacy media lies." Other conservative figures amplified the story as well. British journalist Piers Morgan asked his 8.5 million followers: "Why is the disgusting, senseless, unprovoked murder of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska by a man named...

Horrific footage of a career criminal stabbing a Ukrainian refugee from behind on a North Carolina train has prompted a national uproar - but you won't find it on any liberal media websites. The crazed attacker can be seen lunging at Zarutska from behind, before the footage skips the graphic slaughter to show him carrying a knife dripping with blood as he walked through the train carriage and another passenger sprinted away.

Democrat North Carolina Governor Josh Stein broke his deafening silence on the senseless and unprovoked murder of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska by 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr. on the Charlotte light rail. After posting his statement on X and using the moment to push his political agenda, suggesting that his budget proposal will fix the issue and calling on the legislature to pass it, Stein got hit with a brutal Community Note on X, calling him out for avoiding the real issue. He attempted to claim that incidents like this are “why my budget calls for more funding to hire...