Michael Whatley, Chairman of the Republican National Committee and U.S. Senate candidate in North Carolina, said that Democratic leaders like Roy Cooper have enabled crime. He vowed to fight for safer communities if elected. The statement was made on X.
“President Trump is absolutely right, we do not need to be coddling killers with soft-on-crime policies like Roy Cooper did,” said Whatley. “We need to be putting them behind bars. As your Senator, I’m going to fight for every family and community to ensure tragedies like this never happen again.”
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina, federal prosecutors charged Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr. with committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system after the fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska aboard Charlotte’s Lynx Blue Line. The affidavit alleges Brown attacked Zarutska with a pocketknife, striking her multiple times before calmly walking away, with police arresting him minutes later on the platform. The press release emphasizes that if convicted, Brown could face life imprisonment or the death penalty, underscoring the gravity of the federal charges.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) press release also recorded strong reactions from federal officials. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said Zarutska’s murder was “a direct result of failed soft-on-crime policies,” promising that Brown would “never again see the light of day as a free man.” FBI Director Kash Patel described the stabbing as “a disgraceful act that should never happen in America,” while U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson said federal charges were essential to protect the public and ensure confidence in transportation systems.
An Axios article reports that following Zarutska’s killing, both the North Carolina State Auditor and the U.S. Department of Transportation initiated investigations into Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), scrutinizing its public safety spending and security protocols. The U.S. Transportation Secretary flagged concerns about the city’s failure to ensure passenger safety, while Charlotte’s mayor announced increased security deployment on train platforms. The spotlight on transit security reflects wider public demand for safer travel amid rising concerns over violent incidents.
Whatley was raised in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, as the son of a town librarian and an accountant. He earned a History degree from UNC–Charlotte, a Master’s in Religion from Wake Forest University, and both a J.D. and Master’s in Theology from the University of Notre Dame. His career includes serving as a federal law clerk, a senior official at the Department of Energy under George W. Bush, Chief of Staff to Senator Elizabeth Dole, and later as Chairman of both the North Carolina Republican Party and the Republican National Committee before launching his U.S. Senate candidacy.
