White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday sharply criticized members of the press for what she described as a slow response to the fatal stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte, saying the case illustrated broader failures of Democratic criminal justice policies.
Leavitt spoke at a daily briefing on Sept. 9, saying many outlets in the room “decided that her murder was not worth reporting on originally because it does not fit a preferred narrative,” and accusing liberal prosecutors, judges and elected officials of allowing crime to rise by pursuing what she called a “soft-on-crime agenda.”
Police say Zarutska, 23, who had come to the United States fleeing the war in Ukraine, was stabbed to death on a light-rail train in Charlotte on Aug. 22 after she sat down near a man in a red hoodie while returning home from work at Zepeddie’s Pizzeria. Authorities have said the suspect, identified as Decarlos Brown, pulled out a knife and stabbed Zarutska in the throat; police documents allege she was stabbed three times. Brown was arrested and charged with murder, and video of the attack spread widely on social media.
Leavitt used the incident to renew Republican criticism of Democratic criminal justice reforms, specifically citing what she described as the “failed experiment known as ‘cashless bail’” and saying the policies have left “too many innocent people” vulnerable. She compared media coverage of Zarutska’s killing to attention paid last year to the case of Daniel Penny, a Marine veteran charged after restraining a New York subway passenger who later died. "Many of the journalists in this room spilled plenty of ink, trying to smear Daniel Penny ... but none of those same reporters lift a finger to write stories about an actual murderer," she said.
The press secretary framed the issue as both a criminal-justice and media-coverage problem, arguing that Democrats’ policy choices and journalists’ editorial decisions have combined to understate street-level violence in some cities. "This is madness," she said. "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."
The Charlotte attack added to a string of high-profile incidents that have intensified national debate over public safety, bail practices and prosecutorial discretion. Supporters of bail reform argue changes were designed to reduce pretrial detention for low-risk defendants and to address inequities in the justice system; critics say some jurisdictions have implemented reforms that have made it harder to detain defendants charged with violent crimes.
Local law enforcement and prosecutors in Charlotte have urged patience as the case proceeds through the legal system. Investigators said they continue to review evidence, including surveillance and cellphone footage that circulated online, and police statements indicated charges against Brown were based on a preliminary assessment of that evidence.
Leavitt’s remarks drew responses in political and media circles, with some commentators defending editorial judgments about which stories receive immediate national attention and others endorsing the administration’s framing of crime and public safety as a national priority. The White House did not immediately provide additional data at the briefing to link the killing directly to changes in local bail policies.
The case remains pending in the Charlotte legal system. Prosecutors have filed murder charges against the suspect, and court proceedings are expected to follow as both sides prepare for trial. In her briefing, Leavitt urged lawmakers and the media to treat the case as emblematic of broader policy choices that, in the administration’s view, deserve renewed scrutiny.