DOJ Charges Suspect in Charlotte, N.C., Light-rail Murder

The Justice Department has charged the suspect in the brutal murder of a young Ukrainian refugee on a light-rail car in Charlotte, North Carolina, with a “terrorist attack.”

Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr., 34, faces a federal charge of “terrorist attack or other violence against a mass transportation system” in connection with the knife murder of Iryna Zarutska, 23, on August 22.

Viral video shows what may have been a racially motivated attack. After the murder, the video shows, Brown, who is black, apparently said, “I got that white girl.”

Today, GOP U.S. Representative Tim Moore of North Carolina and nine other congressmen called for the removal of Magistrate Teresa Stokes, who released Brown after a recent arrest.

The Murder

Video shows Brown sitting behind Zarutska, who is staring at her smartphone. He rises and stabs her three times. The young woman looks up in terror at Brown as he walks away, then covers her mouth with her right hand, then her eyes. Seconds later, she falls onto the seat, then crumples to the floor.

Video posted by Charlie Kirk reveals the suspected racial motive for the crime. “I got that white girl,” Brown apparently said. “I got what white girl.”

Kirk wrote that far-left Democratic CNN talker Van Jones had denied the racial motive.

The federal criminal complaint alleges that Brown attacked at 9:50 p.m. He “pulled a knife from his pocket and unfolded the knife before striking the victim three (3) times from behind.”

“Following the attack, suspected blood can be seen dripping onto the floor as Brown walked away from the victim,” the complaint observes.

Federal Government Response

“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,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Brown, Bondi wrote, is a “repeat violent offender with a history of violent crime.… We will seek the maximum penalty … he will never again see the light of day as a free man.”

“The brutal attack on Iryna Zarutska was a disgraceful act that should never happen in America,” FBI chieftain Kash Patel said.

President Trump released video of his take on the murder, vowing to make American cities safe again.

“For far too long, Americans have been forced to put up with Democrat-run cities that set loose savage, bloodthirsty criminals to prey on innocent people — really, very, very innocent people ” he begins:

In every place they control radical-left judges, politicians, and activists [they have] adopted a policy of catch-and-release for thugs and killers. In Charlotte, North Carolina, we saw the results of these policies when a 23-year-old woman who came here from Ukraine met her bloody end on a public train.

Trump shows photos of the murder and a photo of Zarutska and murder suspect Brown.

“She was slaughtered by a deranged monster who was roaming free after 14 prior arrests,” he continues:

We cannot allow a depraved, criminal element of violent repeat offenders to continue spreading destruction and death throughout our country. We have to respond with force and strength. We have to be vicious, just like they are. It’s the only thing they understand.

Trump also notes that 24 of the top 25 most dangerous cities in America are Democrat-controlled.

Zarutska’s murder is “the culmination of North Carolina’s Democrat politicians, prosecutors, and judges prioritizing woke agendas that fail to protect their citizens when they need them the most,” a White House release said.

The release included a list of the policies that Charlotte and surrounding Mecklenburg County have adopted that led to Zarutska’s murder, including “an initiative to ‘reimagine’ policing, which included diverting 911 calls away from the police department.”

As well:

[A] “Task Force for Racial Equity in Justice” … recommended “reimagining public safety” to “promote diversion and other alternatives to arrest,” “deemphasize” some felony crimes, prioritize “restorative justice,” and “eliminate cash bail” for many crimes.

Magistrate Judge Not a Lawyer?

But those aren’t the only problems in Charlotte. Moore and nine other congressmen say the magistrate judge who released Brown must be removed. Writing to Roy Wiggins, chief judge of the Tarheel State’s 26th judicial district, the group explained why Teresa Stokes must be fired.

Here “actions in the case of Decarlos Brown, Jr. clearly meet both of these grounds for removal” they wrote:

In January 2025, Magistrate Stokes authorized the release of Brown based solely on his “written promise” to appear for a future court date. This decision was made despite Brown’s extensive criminal history, which included at least 14 prior arrests for serious offenses such as possession of a firearm by a felon, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and physical assault of his sister. In 2014, he was sentenced to five years in prison for robbery with a dangerous firearm. The January charge, a Class 1 misdemeanor, arose after Brown became combative with police officers. Yet despite this history of violent and unstable behavior, Magistrate Stokes released Brown without requiring bond or imposing any meaningful conditions to safeguard the public.

Stokes’ critics on X have noted that she is not a member of the North Carolina bar. A search of the bar directory does not return a result for “Teresa Stokes.”

North Carolina law does not require a magistrate judge to be a lawyer.