A group of 10 North Carolina Republicans is calling for the removal of state Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes, accusing her of misconduct after she released a repeat offender who allegedly went on to kill a 23-year-old woman on a Charlotte light rail train.
In a letter sent Tuesday to Chief District Court Judge Roy Wiggins, obtained by the Washington Examiner, 10 Republican members of Congress urged formal removal proceedings under North Carolina law, citing what they called “willful and persistent failure” by Stokes to protect the public. They said her decision to release DeCarlos Brown Jr. without bond earlier this year directly enabled the fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska on the Charlotte Area Transit System.
Recommended Stories
- WATCH LIVE: House Republicans hold weekly press conference
- Johnson’s GOP margin to shrink with Virginia special election favoring Democrats
- Capitol Tea: Thomas Massie’s makeover
“North Carolina’s justice system failed Iryna Zarutska,” Rep. Tim Moore (R-NC) said. “She came to Charlotte looking for safety and a better life, but instead, she was brutally murdered by a repeat offender who never should’ve been let back on the streets. Judge Stokes had the chance to protect the public and chose not to.”
Brown, 34, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, was arrested in January after repeatedly calling 911 and insisting that officers examine what he described as “man-made” substances inside his body that he believed were controlling his movements. When police declined to investigate, Brown became agitated and was charged with a misdemeanor, according to reports.
Seven months later, Brown is now charged in the Aug. 22 stabbing death of Zarutska, who fled Ukraine in 2022 following Russia’s invasion. Footage of the stabbing incident released this week launched a flurry of criticism over the handling of his 911 misuse case, prompting politicians and pundits to question how someone such as Brown would be allowed to walk free despite his history of violent conduct and erratic behavior.
“What happened on the light rail in Charlotte is a tragedy that never should have happened,” Rep. Addison McDowell (R-NC) said. “Teresa Stokes has failed the people and must be removed. She’s proven she can’t do the job and has lost the trust of the public.”
Other lawmakers tied the case to a broader trend of leniency in urban court systems.
“Magistrate Stokes’ rulings highlight exactly why liberal soft-on-crime policies are failing our communities locally and nationwide,” Rep. David Rouzer (R-NC) said. “When lenient laws meet lenient judges, public safety takes a back seat.”
The lawmakers urged Wiggins to begin proceedings under North Carolina General Statute § 7A-173, which allows a magistrate to be removed for failure to perform official duties or for conduct that brings the judicial office into disrepute. They also requested a review of Stokes’s bond decisions in other cases.
“Why would a judge knowingly let a repeat criminal with serious mental issues out on our streets?” Rep. Mark Harris (R-NC) added. “Pro-crime judges must be held responsible for their failure to carry out the most basic, commonsense duties. We must ensure there are no future Iryna Zarutskas.”
The controversy has expanded across state lines. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), a Republican candidate for governor of South Carolina, called for Democratic Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles to resign and warned South Carolinians to avoid the city.
“Mayor Lyles should resign,” Norman said. “Her statements of concern for this assailant make her unfit to lead a major city.”
Lyles has called the murder a “tragic situation” that “sheds light on problems with society safety nets related to mental healthcare and the systems that should be in place,” according to WSOC-TV, but has defended the CATS as “by and large a safe transit system.”
JUDGE WHO RELEASED CHARLOTTE LIGHT RAIL KILLER HAS HISTORY OF ADDICTION ACTIVISM
Stokes has not responded to the congressional letter. The Washington Examiner reached out to her and Wiggins for comment.
The full letter is below:
Ltr. to NC District Ct Re Teresa Stokes Removal by reportoftheday