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North Carolina Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley took aim at his top Democratic opponent ahead of Tuesday’s primary election, tying former Gov. Roy Cooper to the conditions he says led to the stabbing death of Ukrainian immigrant Iryna Zarutska on Charlotte’s transit system last year.
On Aug. 22, 2025, Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr., 34, is accused of stabbing Zarutska to death near the East West Boulevard light rail station in Mecklenburg County as she rode the train.
Critics say Cooper’s 2021 settlement with civil rights groups over COVID-19 prison conditions is connected to Brown being released from custody.
In a message to the media ahead of Tuesday’s election, Whatley’s campaign titled its victory party press invitation “Deets on where DeCarlos Brown will not be on primary night.”
Republican Michael Whatley and Democrat Roy Cooper stand together in a photo. (Angela Weiss/AFP/Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu/Getty Images) (Angela Weiss/AFP/Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu/Getty Images)
“Hint: Not at Michael Whatley’s primary night victory party at Noble Smoke in Charlotte,” the release read.
At the bottom, the Whatley campaign launched another broadside, writing that “no, we don’t know for sure if all the child molesters, rapists, and murderers released by Roy Cooper will be at the Cooper party, but we bet those same child molesters, rapists, and murderers are in the Cooper camp.”
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A Cooper campaign spokesperson fired back at Whatley in comments to Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
“These Republican attacks are false — 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 a stricter pretrial release bail policy as governor,” the spokesperson said.
“DC insider lobbyist Michael Whatley is desperate to distract from his support for cuts to law enforcement that make North Carolinians less safe,” they added.
Whatley and Cooper won their respective primaries on Tuesday and will face off to succeed retiring Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.
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Earlier Tuesday, Tillis launched his own broadside against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, criticizing her handling of FEMA in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which devastated western North Carolina.
In the Zarutska case, FTA Administrator Marc Molinaro blamed “systemic failures” within the transit system of the state’s largest city, citing reports showing crime onboard is higher than the national average.
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