Free Republic

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein on Friday signed “Iryna’s Law,” which increases checks on criminals getting out on bail and prohibits cashless bail for some violent crimes and most repeat offenders following the stabbing death of a Ukrainian refugee on a Charlotte light-rail train in August. Stein, a Democrat, has said he doesn’t like every part of the bill that was passed by the Republican-controlled state Legislature, which also looks to restart executions in North Carolina, but he signed it because it “alerts the judiciary to take a special look at people who may pose unusual risks of violence before...

“Hey, Van, I mean it, I’d love to have you on my show to have a respectful conversation about crime and race. I would be a gentleman as I know you would be as well. We can disagree about the issues agreeably.” Unfortunately, before I could even respond, Charlie Kirk was killed —

Three recent events have underscored the catastrophic erosion of the foundational tenets of the United States and the anti-Americanism of the Democrat Party. The first is the brutal murder of a young woman in Charlotte, N.C., Iryna Zarutska. The second, the assassination of Charlie Kirk. The third, sitting Democrat senator Tim Kaine’s declaration reflecting a fundamental belief within the current Democrat Party that the government is the source and, thus, the final arbiter of all human rights.Over the centuries, those that deem the state is paramount and, thus, the source of all rights, believe granting, limiting, or denying these rights...

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...

Prior to Charlie Kirk's murder at the hands of a political fanatic, 23 year-old Iryna Zarutska was stabbed to death on a light rail train in Charlotte, North Carolina by a dangerous lunatic named Decarlos Brown Jr. Brown had been previously arrested 14 times over the past decade for crimes including assault and robbery. In January of this year he was again arrested. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia and advised to seek psychiatric care. Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes authorized the release of Brown based solely on his written promise to appear for a future court date. While he was free...

Charlie Kirk comments on reactions from the left, including sympathy for the murderer from CNN's Van Jones, to the racial angle of the murder of a Ukrainian refugee in North Carolina. "In reality we’re asking a very simple question, Mr. Jones, will you apologize for all the criminal justice reform you pushed forward that allowed these 14-time criminal offenders to walk the streets? You are the architect and designer of constantly feeling bad for the criminal—criminals who then kill more people like Irina Zarutska," Kirk said. "And by the way, I didn’t bring up race. The attacker said, quote, 'I...

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....

Today is relatively calm. There are no riots, no burning cars or buildings, no streets shut down. But there ought to be. It's time for a come to Jesus meeting with judges and DA's. Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who fled to the United States in 2022 to escape the war in Ukraine, was fatally stabbed on a Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) Blue Line light rail train on August 22, 2025, around 9:45 p.m. The attack took place on a train en route to the East/West Boulevard Station in Charlotte’s South End. Zarutska was pronounced dead at the...