President Trump Blasts Former Gov. Roy Cooper Over Release of Offender Charged in Refugee’s Murder
President Donald Trump has launched a blistering attack on former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, holding him directly responsible for the release of the violent offender accused of killing Iryna Zarutska. The President’s comments come amidst a heated political climate as Cooper campaigns for the U.S. Senate, bringing national attention back to the tragic 2025 stabbing in Charlotte.
Trump did not mince words in his statement, accusing the former Democratic governor of prioritizing “soft-on-crime” policies over public safety. “Roy Cooper put violent criminals back on the streets. He has disgraced North Carolina,” Trump declared, linking the release of suspect Decarlos Brown Jr. to administrative decisions made during Cooper’s tenure. Trump and his allies have characterized the release as part of a broader failure of Democratic leadership to contain violent crime, specifically citing release programs implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Tragic Death of Iryna Zarutska
The controversy centers on the August 22, 2025, murder of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who had fled the war in her home country to seek safety in the United States. Zarutska was stabbed to death while riding the Lynx Blue Line light rail in Charlotte. The brutality of the attack, captured on surveillance video, sparked outrage across North Carolina and the nation.
Authorities arrested Decarlos Brown Jr., a repeat offender with a history of violent crimes, including armed robbery. Brown was subsequently charged with first-degree murder and a federal count of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system. The tragedy has become a flashpoint in the 2026 midterm elections, with Republicans using the case to highlight what they describe as systemic failures in the justice system under the previous state administration.
Background on the Release and Political Fallout
The President’s criticism leverages claims that Brown was a beneficiary of early release mechanisms championed by the Cooper administration. Specifically, Republican critics point to a 2021 settlement between the Cooper administration and civil rights groups, including the NAACP and ACLU, which facilitated the early release of certain inmates to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in prisons.
This narrative has become a central theme in the current U.S. Senate race, where Roy Cooper is vying for the seat vacated by retiring Senator Thom Tillis. Trump endorsed Republican candidate Michael Whatley has echoed the President’s sentiments, arguing that the “catch-and-release” style policies of the former governor have had lethal consequences for residents like Zarutska.
Objections and Conflicting Reports
Despite the accusations from the White House, state corrections records and independent fact-checks offer a conflicting timeline regarding Brown’s release. According to the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, Brown was not released early as part of the 2021 COVID-19 settlement. Records indicate that Brown completed his minimum sentence for a 2014 armed robbery conviction and was released in September 2020—five months before the settlement in question was finalized.
Legal experts and state officials have noted that Brown served his time as mandated by the sentencing laws in effect, receiving standard credit for time served in jail prior to his conviction. Furthermore, reports suggest that systemic issues within the state’s mental health services may have played a significant role. Following his release, Brown reportedly suffered from severe untreated schizophrenia, with family members claiming they had attempted to seek involuntary commitment for him prior to the attack but were unable to secure a bed due to capacity shortages in state psychiatric facilities.
Defenders of the former governor argue that linking Cooper directly to this specific release is factually incorrect and ignores the broader crisis in mental health funding. Nonetheless, the political damage remains potent, as the tragic loss of a young refugee continues to dominate the discourse surrounding the 2026 election cycle.
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