US Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed Tuesday, September 9, to pursue the "maximum penalty" against a man charged with murdering a Ukrainian refugee, as the Trump administration continues touting its tough-on-crime agenda in Democratic-led cities. Authorities say Iryna Zarutska was repeatedly stabbed from behind by 34-year-old DeCarlos Brown Jr. last month while riding a light rail train in the southern city of Charlotte, North Carolina.
"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," Bondi said in a statement.
Brown is charged with one federal count of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system, and faces life in prison or the death penalty, the statement said. Mecklenburg County prosecutors have separately charged Brown with first-degree murder. Local Democratic leaders came under fire for highlighting Brown's history of mental health issues in their response to the slaying.
Zarutska, 23, left Ukraine in 2022 following Russia's invasion, and "her blood is on the hands of the Democrats," US President Donald Trump wrote on social media Monday.
Chilling security footage that went viral shows a man boarding the tramway, sitting behind her, and minutes later stabbing her three times – with no prior interaction.
The case has been seized upon by Trump administration officials, who accuse Democrats of being lenient on crime. Criminal cases are typically the jurisdiction of local prosecutors in the United States, based on state and local criminal codes. Federal prosecutions are typically limited to crimes committed against federal law.
Brown has multiple prior convictions – including an armed robbery that led to five years in prison, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday.
"This monster should have been locked up, and Iryna should still be alive, but Democrat politicians, liberal judges and weak prosecutors would rather virtue signal than lock up criminals and protect their communities," Leavitt said.
Brown also has "a long history" of mental health issues, according to his lawyer in a previous case, the Raleigh News & Observer newspaper reported.