It's 5.05 and welcome in to a Wednesday edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 1110-993 WBT. I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to you.
Well, national attention continues to swirl around North Carolina. Of course, this all dealing with the August the 22nd murder of 23-year-old Irina Zaruska on a Charlotte light rail. The big details that we are tracking this morning is now federal charges being thrown in in this continued coverage of this story. Learning details yesterday out of Russ Ferguson, who is the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, holding a press conference announcing that these federal charges are, in fact, going to be gone after by the federal government against the killer in DeCarlos Brown Jr., the 34-year-old that is alleged in that attack.
This is what Ferguson had to say yesterday at a news conference. As a native of Charlotte, I'm so sad to say that our city has gotten to this place. I was born here, I grew up here, I remember when the light rail was built. Um I remember the development of Spurt, I remember the excitement. Uh and to think now that you can't even feel comfortable riding that train.
Hits me deep. The light rail brought this city. access to jobs, access to education. people could take the train to college. It really put Charlotte on the map.
And this incident has really, really injured that.
Now the Carlos Brown Jr. Who we allege stabbed Erna Sarutska is in state custody on first-degree murder charges. But I'm here today to announce that we are going to supplement those state charges with federal charges. These federal charges will go alongside the murder case in state court, and they will we hope that they will ensure justice for Erna, for her family and for the whole Charlotte community. The Western District Attorney, that's who you're hearing, the voice of Russ Ferguson, described a little bit more about those charges and why the federal government is going this route and taking those out.
The charge we are bringing is in Title 18, which is the Criminal Code. It's section 1992A7, which is the criminal. law that Congress passed really for this situation. Is an act of violence on a mass transportation system. It is a law that is there because acts like this affect the American way, it affects our daily life.
It is random acts on a train that are the Thoroughbred and how we get through our cities to work, to our places of education, to our families. It is our way of American life. Crime makes people stop taking that light rail. They give up those opportunities. And we are here to be sure that we can save our city.
and bring those opportunities back. The maximum penalty for this federal crime is life in prison without parole or the death penalty. Of course, each individual case receives its own sentencing hearing by a federal judge that will decide the sentence based on the individual factors in this case. Of course, at this point, we're only making allegations. We do have a charge.
We filed a criminal complaint. It has been signed by a federal judge. The charges have been brought. But they are discharges. That's again Russ Ferguson talking about those charges.
He also, from the federal standpoint, talked about the timeline of this situation that unfolded back on August the 27th on that light rail in Charlotte. And that is that at 9:55 on August 22nd, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department Responded to a call that there had been a stabbing on a light rail train. They located the victim who had been suffered stab wounds in her neck, on her hand. They found a pocket knife on the scene. and they apprehended the Fendit at the rail stop.
Now much more recently, the surveillance video was obtained from the train, and that's really what gave us the basis for federal charges here. And the surveillance video shows Irina Zarutska getting on the train by herself, In her work uniform, Sitting down by herself. In a row. that just happened to be in front of DeCarlos Brown Jr. Approximately four minutes later, Mr.
Brown pulled out a pocket knife. You see him on video, open that pocket knife, and he stabbed her three times in the neck. He then walked off the train with blood dripping from the knife. Russ Ferguson, the U.S. Attorney, I should say, for the Western District of North Carolina, announcing those federal charges at a press conference yesterday alongside members of the FBI, James Barnacle Jr., the special agent in charge dealing with this case from the FBI standpoint.
Attorney Ferguson, obviously, talking about growing up in Charlotte, spending a lot of time in Charlotte, an issue close to home to him, and he got pretty emotional about it. But this is why federal statutes exist. They exist to take care of situations like this because no one should sit in fear when they sit on the light rail. If you sit in fear on the light rail, You sit in fear when you walk around the streets of our center city. Like I do every day.
You sit in fear when you go to our perks, like I do with my daughter every weekend. You sit and fear at our sporting events, our entertainment venues, at concerts, at restaurants, at our museums. These are all the things that we have worked as a city so hard to build. We built this city. Companies have come here in droves.
More than 150 people move here every day. We've built a city that people want to live in, but we can lose that all. if we allow violent crime like this to go on in our streets. And I'm here to tell you, the federal government is going to save our city from that. The U.S.
code that they will be using in going after DeCarlos Brown Jr., the alleged killer, and this is 18 U.S.C. Code 1992. It all deals with violence on a mass transportation system, which the Charlotte light rail would fall under. And as you heard there from Russ Ferguson, the maximum penalty for a conviction, if when we get to that point in time, could be life in prison without parole or even the death penalty. James Barnacle Jr., the FBI Charlotte special agent in charge, says that Americans should be able to travel on things like mass transit without fear or violence, saying in a press release, Irina Zaruska had likely taken that train ride many times before.
She was probably tired after a day at work and just wanted to go home, but tragically, she never made it. We hope that this federal charge will help bring her family a measure of justice and the courts will hold the subjects charged in this horrific action. Act accountable. Everyone in this country deserves to go to work, to school, or just across town without the fear of being attacked. Attorney General Pam Bondi, the head of DOJ, also continued to spotlight the failed policies that she says enabled this tragedy, echoing similar remarks that you've heard this week from people like President Donald Trump, House Speaker Destin Hall, Senate Leader Phil Berger, many members of North Carolina's Republican delegation, and others, with the AG saying in a press release, quote, Irena Zaruska 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. I have directed my attorneys to federally prosecute DeCarlos Brown Jr., a repeat violent offender with a history of violent crime, for murder. We will seek the maximum penalty for this unforgivable act of violence. He will never again see the light of day as a free man. The FBI director and Kash Patel, who is also working in conjunction with this, says that he appreciates the joint efforts in continuing to deliver justice for the 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee and her family, saying, quote, the brutal attack on Irina Zaruska on the Charlotte light rail was a disgraceful act that should never happen in America.
The FBI jumped to assist in this investigation immediately to ensure that justice is served and the perpetrator is never released from jail to kill again. I want to thank Attorney General Bondi for her pursuit of today's federal charges, which are the first steps towards delivering justice for Irina and her family, as well as millions of Americans who deserve to live in our great American cities, free from being the target by violent criminals. This is a major escalation, at least from the criminal side, the judicial side, in this case that has gotten so much national attention really since earlier in the week, starting late last week, Friday, when that surveillance footage was released and started making its way around social media. We will continue to track it, of course, from a wide variety of angles, but specifically here on the illegal side this morning. You can get some additional coverage on that over on our website this morning.
CarolinaJournal.com. It's 521. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 1110-993 WBT. As we continue our coverage this morning of the August the 22nd horrific murder of Ukrainian refugee Irina Zaruska on the Charlotte light rail, Representative Tim Moore, the Republican out of the 14th Congressional District, which does include the vast majority of the Charlotte metro area, has introduced the Keep Violent Criminals Off Our Streets Act, also known as House Resolution 5213. This is being introduced alongside Representatives Elise Stefanik from New York, Representative John James from Missouri, and others across the nation.
Moore said in a press release, quote, Irina Zaruska should still be alive. Her blood is on the hands of every single person who made it possible for this monster to walk free. That's why I'm co-leading the Keep Violent Criminals Off Our Streets Act to cut off federal funds to any state or city that refuses to detain violent offenders. If leaders willingly refuse to do their job to lock up dangerous criminals, they shouldn't get a federal dime of support. De Carlos Brown Jr., who allegedly killed Zaruska, as you are well aware at this point, was convicted of 14 other crimes and was released on a promise to appear from a judge.
House Resolution 5213 would bar any state or local government from receiving any sort of federal funds if they ban cash bail for all offenders or fail to enforce detention for all violent offenders, including juveniles. According to Representative Elise Stefanik from New York, who is the original lead on this legislation, she writes: Under Kathy Hochul, that's the governor of New York's failed leadership, cashless bail policies in New York pose a clear and present danger to the nation and must be terminated. Today, Senator Marsha Blackburn and I are working alongside President Trump to end cashless bail disasters. We cannot allow arrested individuals who are awaiting trial to be released back onto the streets to commit more crimes against their communities. Senator Marsha Blackburn, the Republican out of Tennessee, is leading the companion legislation in the Senate.
Blackburn also made news over the last couple of weeks announcing that she will be running for governor in Tennessee, setting up a gubernatorial primary that will be taking place early next year. Blackburn said in a press release, quote, Cashless bail and other soft-on crime policies have empowered violent criminals across our country, putting the lives of law-abiding citizens at risk. President Trump is leading the charge to restore law and order by ending these failed policies, and Congresswoman Stefanik and I are backing his efforts by introducing two bills to end cashless bail and keep violent offenders behind bars. A statement from the White House blames Democrats for the murder of Zaruska, saying that while they did not wield the knife, a radical left policy such as no cash bail and defunding the police allowed it to take place. The Trump administration argued that Democrat judges a release of Brown Jr., the suspect in this case, following his most recent arrest in January, despite his lengthy criminal rap sheet.
Lawmakers wrote: Magistrate Stokes's actions in the case of DeCarlos Brown Jr. clearly meets both of these grounds for removal. In January 2025, Magistrate Stokes authorized the release of Brown based solely on a written promise to appear for a future court date. This decision was made despite Brown's extensive criminal history, which included at least fourteen 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. Back a little over a decade ago in 2014, he was sentenced to five years in prison for robbery with a dangerous firearm.
The January charge, which is a Class I misdemeanor, arose after Brown became combative with police officers. Yet, despite his history of violence and unstable behavior, the magistrate judge released Brown without requiring bond or imposing any meaningful condition to safeguard the public. In addition, on September the 9th, the North Carolina Republican delegation did send a letter to Judge Roy H. Wiggins, the chief judge for North Carolina's Judicial District 26, calling for the judge who released Brown to be removed. That is a lengthy letter that we've got available over on our website this morning, CarolinaJournal.com.
It's signed by Tim Moore, Greg Murphy, Virginia Fox, Addison McDowell, Congressman David Rauser, Mark Harris, Richard Hudson, Pat Harrigan, Chuck Edwards, and Brad Knott, the entire Republican-led delegation in Washington, D.C.
Some of the congressmen also weighed in individually in other press statements. As Mark Harris noted, Why would a judge knowingly let a repeat criminal with serious mental health issues out on our streets? Pro-crime judges must be held responsible for their failure to carry out the most basic common sense duties. We must ensure that there are no further Irina Zaruskas. Congressman David Rauser out of the seventh Congressional District, that's in southeastern North Carolina, noted, Magistrate Stokes' ruling highlights exactly why liberal soft on crime policies are failing our communities locally and nationwide.
When lenient laws meet lenient judges, public safety takes a back seat. This tragic loss of a life was absolutely preventable, echoing again a lot of the commentary that we've seen over the last couple of days. For the first time since this tragedy began taking a big-time national news piece, former governor, now Senate candidate Roy Cooper has finally commented on it. It wasn't until after 6 o'clock last night that the former eight-year governor, 12-year attorney general, had anything to say about this murder. Governor Cooper.
Posting on his ex-account, quote: The murder of Irina Zaruska is a horrible tragedy, and we must do everything we can to keep people safe. He then, that was all he said before torching Senate candidate Michael Watley, commenting, only a cynical D.C. insider would think it's acceptable to use her death for political points, especially one who supported cutting funding to law enforcement in North Carolina. The governor continued, the former governor continued by saying, I've been attorney general and governor, dedicating my career to putting violent criminals behind bars and keeping them there. It's time for Michael Watley and the GOP to get serious in Washington about funding our law enforcement, and that's what we'll do, and that's what I'll do as senator.
As many other of these out-of-touch comments come in from elected officials, the social media machine is very much indicating that governor, former Governor Cooper's post, has 3 million views and more than 5,000 responses with less than 7,000 reshares on X and less than 1,500. Likes.
So, as you can then going through the commentary, there are a lot of outrage from folks across North Carolina and the nation. Similar comments also popping up on the Twitter accounts of other elected individuals, including now for now current Governor Josh Stein, who is also the former Attorney General. We'll continue this as we track this major national story, of course, with a very strong Charlotte, North Carolina connection right here on the Carolina Journal NewsHour. It's 536. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour News Talk 1110-99.3 WBT as national attention continues to shine its spotlight on Charlotte this morning at the murder of 23-year-old Irina Zaruska back on August the 22nd.
The White House and President Donald Trump putting out a video on social media yesterday afternoon from the official White House Twitter account talking about that and crime in major cities across the United States. Here's President Trump yesterday. 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. In every place they control radical left judges, politicians, and activists.
And they've 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. And here's a picture of it.
This is the picture of it. And this is a picture of the woman. A beautiful young girl that Never had problems in life. With a magnificent future in this country. And now she's dead.
She was slaughtered by a deranged monster. who was roaming free after 14 prior arrests. 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. 24 of the top 25 most dangerous cities in America are run by Democrat mayors. 50 people were murdered in Chicago in recent weeks, with hundreds being shot. And it's time to stop this madness. The people of our country need to insist on protection, safety, law, and order.
We have proven that it can be done. Because we did it right here in DC and District of Columbia, the capital of America, was a Bloodthirsty, horrible, dangerous place, one of the worst. And now it's a crime-free city, and we're going to keep it that way. It can be done, it can happen fast. All we want is Please.
Mr. President, we need help. Chicago needs help. Other cities needs help. We'll do what has to be done because we're going to make America safe again, and that includes our big cities.
We're going to make those cities safe. Thank you. That's President Donald Trump releasing that video on X yesterday afternoon at a White House press briefing. Press Secretary Caroline Levitt took the opportunity to bash former Governor Roy Cooper and current Governor Josh Stein, two, of course, very prominent elected officials here in the state of North Carolina. This is what she had to say in the briefing room yesterday.
All the way back in 2020, North Carolina's then Democrat Governor Roy Cooper established a so-called Task Force for Racial Equity and Criminal Justice.
Sounds nice, but it's not. That task force was co-authored by then Attorney General and current Democrat Governor Josh Stein. It recommended, quote, reimagining public safety to quote promote diversion and other alternatives to arrest. It also advised to de-emphasize some felony crimes, prioritize, quote, restorative justice, and eliminate cash bail. Democrats in North Carolina and nationwide are consumed with pushing a woke soft-on-crime agenda, no matter how many innocent Americans suffer as a result.
Instead of aggressively prosecuting and locking up violent criminals, the Democrat-backed cashless bail approach lets these criminals roam free in our country to offend again and again. That's Press Secretary Caroline Levitt at the White House press briefing yesterday, taking the top spot at the briefing. She spoke about the situation in Charlotte, all of the various elements of it for multiple minutes yesterday before taking questions from reporters. We'll continue to track the coverage right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour, where it's now 5:40, News Talk 11:10, 99.3 WBT. As we continue our coverage of the horrific August the 22nd murder of a Ukrainian refugee here in the greater Charlotte metro area, a lot of folks have been jumping in on the conversation.
That includes state auditor Dave Bollock, whose office announced they're opening an investigation to walk us through some of those details this morning. Teresa Opaca, CarolinaJournal.com, joins us on the news hour. Teresa, this has obviously garnered an incredible, unimaginable amount of national media attention over the last couple of days. What's going on here in the state auditor's office? Sure.
Good morning, Nick. Thanks for having me. And around the world, too, we've got reports. Of course, you know, Auditor Bollock is getting in line with everybody else talking about this and doing some investigating when it comes to the tragedy that happened in Charlotte on the light rail on August 22nd. He said he's going to be investigating the CATS, the Charlotte area transit system, as far as the public safety aspects of how it goes, including but not limited to private security contracts, metrics, and data used by CATS, and also private security for public safety purposes and the CATS safety and security budget.
He says, you know, one of the most basic duties a government owes to the people is public safety. And the recent lawlessness and violence that have taken place on Charlotte's public transportation system, it does raise serious questions about the security measures in place. And he says, we're going to investigate Katz and examine its public safety contracts and operations. He also, in a press release that he issued yesterday, detailed other crimes that have happened on Katz as well before this tragic fatal stabbing that occurred on August 22nd. You know, Teresa, it's interesting that the auditors are noting and you're reporting some of the safety and security issues.
You would imagine that the situation that, as you noted, unfolded more than two weeks ago at this point, back on August the 22nd, would have caused Katz and the Charlotte City Council and everybody involved to increase security. We had a report from Sunday that over 75% of a ride taken by Mark Garrison in his audio report indicated that there were nobody checking tickets and there was no security. If an event like that doesn't increase security, I mean, you start begging the question: is there ever going to be any increase in security? Right, right. I mean, what does it take?
You know, I think maybe it takes now the federal government. Threatening to investigate, which we're seeing in the DOJ, Attorney General Pam Bondi, who's going to be federally prosecuting this case. You also see Cash Patel, FBI Director Cash Patel, raising questions saying they're also. Be looking into it. There's all this scrutiny now being.
looked at. Did it take Federal government to step in and say, Hey, we're going to take a look at this, prosecute with federal charges. This poor woman died unneedlessly, you know, from this person who shouldn't have been on the light rail to begin with if people were doing their jobs and taking the tickets. As you say, you know, that it seems like they knew that they, what some people knew what they can get away with and sit on the light rail and not have to pay to ride it. And not just that, but with the serious consequences with what we've seen.
Yeah, no no question about that and for maybe for folks going into a little bit more detail might be helpful unlike the New York City subway with folks might be familiar with the light rail in Charlotte was retrofitted into the city so you kind of approach it on a floating platform Teresa kind of like a bus stop essentially there's no turnstiles There's no big blockades or major gates or anything It's kind of a merit-based system you purchase a ticket if you're gonna ride But it's been has been noted in some of the media coverage over the last few days or so if folks are not there checking tickets You've got individuals that are going to take advantage of some of that lax whether it's security or ticket checkers and ride this thing back and forth Right, right.
So they definitely have to look into getting a system in place where they can actually get that. Uh To get people's tickets being taken. I'm not sure what that's gonna entail, but there should definitely be something that definitely takes care of that. I don't know if that is including having a person on there taking a ticket or a system where it just doesn't allow you to board the train, but something definitely needs to be done. No question about that.
We've got a lot of extensive coverage over on our website this morning, CarolinaJournal.com. These comments from State Auditor Dave Bullock announcing his investigation as reaction continues to come in from across the United States and folks here in North Carolina. We appreciate the time and the details this morning. Teresa Opeka joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour. Honey, the power's out.
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It's now 5:53. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 11:10-993 WBT. U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson for the Western District of North Carolina has announced federal charges against Carlos Brown Jr. in the August 22nd murder of a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee by the name of Irina Zaruska on a Charlotte light rail.
A press conference did take place yesterday, which did include the U.S. Attorney. This is what he had to say about the situation. As a native of Charlotte, I'm so sad to say that our city has gotten to this place. I was born here, I grew up here, I remember when the light rail was built.
Um I remember the development at Spurt, I remember the excitement. Uh and to think now that you can't even feel comfortable riding that train. Hits me deep. The light rail brought this city. access to jobs, access to education.
People could take the train to college. It really put Charlotte on the map. And this incident has really, really injured that.
Now the Carlos Brown Jr. who we allege stabbed Erna Sarutska, is in state custody on first-degree murder charges. But I'm here today to announce that we're going to supplement those charges with federal charges. These federal charges will go alongside the murder case in state court. And we hope that they will ensure justice for Erna, for her family, and for the whole Charlotte community.
For the whole Charlotte community, there from Russ Ferguson. He then went into additional details about what these federal charges are and why they're going after them. The charge we are bringing is in Title 18, which is the Criminal Code. It's Section 1992A7, which is the law that Congress passed really for this situation. It is an act of violence on a mass transportation system.
It is a law that is there because acts like this affect the American way, it affects our daily life. It is random acts on a train that are the Thoroughbred and how we get through our cities to work, to our places of education, to our families. It is our way of American life. Crime makes people stop taking that light rail. They give up those opportunities.
And we are here to be sure that we can save our city. and bring those opportunities back. The maximum penalty for this federal crime is life imprison without parole or the death penalty. Of course, each individual case receives its own sentencing hearing by a federal judge that will decide the sentence based on the individual factors in this case. Of course, at this point, we're only making allegations.
We do have a charge. We filed a criminal complaint. It has been signed by a federal judge. The charges have been brought. But they are discharges.
That's Russ Ferguson, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, getting some additional reaction. And James Barnacle Jr., the FBI Charlotte special agent in charge, said that Americans should be able to travel without fear and violence in a press release yesterday saying, quote, Irina Zaruska had likely taken that train ride many times before. She was probably tired after a day of work and just wanted to go home. But tragically, she never made it.
We hope this of these federal charges will help bring her family a measure of justice and the courts will hold the subject charged in this horrific act. accountable. Everyone in this country deserves to go to work, to school, or just across town without the fear of being attacked. Attorney General Pam Bondi also continued to spotlight the failed policies that she says enabled this tragedy, echoing similar remarks made by others, including President Donald Trump, saying, Irina Zaruska 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.
We've got some additional details on everything that we've been tracking on this situation out of Charlotte over on our website this morning, CarolinaJournal.com. That's going to do it for a Wednesday edition of WBT News is Next, followed by Good Morning BT. We're back with you tomorrow morning, 5 to 6, right here on News Talk 1110 and 99.3, WBT.
