President Donald Trump blamed Iryna Zarutska’s murder on a “SECRET settlement” between former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and “far left activists.”
The brazen August murder of Zarutska sent shockwaves through the United States and prompted debates on crime and justice, with Republicans pinning the blame on Democrats for what they call soft-on-crime policies. On Friday, Trump directly blamed Zarutska’s death at the hands of repeat offender DeCarlos Brown Jr. on Cooper.
“Repeat Violent Offender DeCarlos Brown Jr. was put on the streets by Radical Roy Cooper, and his soft-on-crime agenda,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “He then went on to BRUTALLY murder Iryna Zarutska aboard the Charlotte light rail. We have learned that this MONSTER appears as part of a SECRET settlement made between Radical Roy and Far Left Activists to release 3,500 inmates from prison.”
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“Roy Cooper put Violent Criminals back on the streets. He has DISGRACED North Carolina, and disqualified himself from public office! LAW AND ORDER is coming back. Michael Whatley will stand with me to restore SAFETY, crush these INSANE Leftwing Policies, and put North Carolina, FIRST,” he added, reiterating his endorsement of Republican Michael Whatley for the 2026 Senate race against Cooper.
Trump elaborated in a follow-up post, linking to a Fox News report on GOP allegations that Brown was let back on the streets as part of a 2021 settlement authorizing the release of 3,500 inmates. Cooper negotiated the settlement with left-wing civil rights groups such as the NAACP, which raised concerns about conditions in prisons due to COVID-19.
Records reviewed by Fox News found that one of the offender identification numbers listed in the NAACP v. Cooper settlement corresponds to Brown. State officials haven’t confirmed if Brown was released as part of the settlement.
Cooper’s Senate campaign disputed Trump and the GOP’s characterization of events.
“This is a lie. DeCarlos Brown was not released from prison as a result of a court ordered settlement but in fact served his full sentence and was not released early,” a Cooper campaign spokesperson said. “Roy Cooper is the only candidate who spent his career prosecuting violent criminals and keeping thousands of them behind bars as attorney general, and signing tough on crime laws and stricter pretrial release bail policy as governor. Only one candidate has had an order out for their arrest and it’s Michael Whatley.”
In his follow-up post, Trump claimed that Brown was released by Cooper “because he is a weak and ineffective person.”
“That is why CRIME has been so bad and violent in North Carolina during Leftist Cooper’s time in office, and beyond!” he added, outlining his case for Whatley.
Brown had an extensive criminal history dating back to 2014, including an armed robbery with a dangerous weapon, for which he spent eight years in jail. Before he murdered Zarutska, he had been arrested and released at least 14 times and was also diagnosed with schizophrenia.
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He was released last time, in January, after giving a “written promise” that he would return for his court date, according to court documents reviewed by the National News Desk.
Trump has focused significant attention on the murder, which was captured on security footage. He previously blamed Cooper for the death in September.
