‘Infuriating, Heartbreaking’: House Speaker Calls for Crime Crackdown After NC Light-Rail Slaying

In the wake of the release of video footage of the fatal stabbing of a young Ukrainian refugee woman in a Charlotte, North Carolina, light-rail car, House Speaker Mike Johnson is renewing his call for a national crime crackdown.

“This 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee was brutally murdered in cold blood on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina,” said Johnson, R-La., at the House Republican leadership’s weekly press conference.

 “Her name is Iryna Zarutska, and she was on the way home from her job at a pizzeria where she worked. She was stabbed repeatedly by a career criminal with a rap sheet a mile long. It’s infuriating, it’s heartbreaking,” he said.

The Louisiana lawmaker criticized media outlets for not covering the story as much as he thinks they should.

“If you only read The New York Times, The Washington Post, or most of the other mainstream outlets, you don’t know anything about Iryna’s heartbreaking story. For some reason, many national news outlets have refused to cover it,” Johnson said. 

 “It’s social media that has amplified the story and made everyone pay attention to it. And Axios shamelessly reported that this was, quote, ‘fuel,’ for the MAGA messaging battle, as if it’s some sort of contrived problem,” he added.

Johnson used the shocking slaying as reason to support tough-on-crime policies. President Donald Trump has called for congressional Republicans to pass a “comprehensive crime bill.”

“This individual [charged in the case], Decarlos Brown [Jr.] is his name, was arrested and released 14 times. Yeah, more than 14 times. We don’t have to live like this. President Trump is proving that every single day in our nation’s capital,” he said, referencing Trump’s deployment of federal law enforcement in Washington, D.C.

Johnson pledged that Republicans would continue to work on the issue of crime, but did not go into specifics.

“This is not just talk; this is action,” he said. “Republicans are in charge, and when Republicans are in charge, those days are over, the days of allowing soft on crime. We’re not going to do it.”

But Trump is entering unknown territory as he continues his capital crime fight. On Wednesday, Trump’s power under the District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973 to control law enforcement in Washington, D.C., expires.

That authority would typically need to be extended by Congress, but Johnson said during the question-and-answer period that, since D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has directed the Metropolitan Police Department to cooperate with the National Guard and federal officers, no action is needed.

“My understanding is that the current status of it is that the Democrat mayor of D.C., Muriel Bowser, wisely welcomed the assistance and she said … it was an indefinite welcome mat to keep the crime low,” Johnson told reporters. “I understand it is an agreement between the White House and the local leadership … . I’m not sure if Congress has any necessity to do anything.”

Before Johnson spoke, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., pledged to “have the president’s back,” and referenced a number of capital-related crime and oversight bills. “We’re going to be bringing bills through committee tomorrow and ultimately to the House floor in the weeks ahead,” he said.

“We will make D.C. safe again. We will get rid of all of these ridiculous laws and limitations on law enforcement. No cash bail. Right now. If you’re under 25, you can be treated as a 14 year old if you commit a violent crime. Crimes at gunpoint, you can walk free the next day, if you’re under 25 years old,” said Scalise, adding:

“We, as House Republicans, are going to address it. I call on every Democrat to join with us and give up their defund-the-police, soft-on-crime mantra.”

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