GOP super PAC attacks Cooper over crime on train stabbing two-month anniversary
A leading Republican super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, is criticizing former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, who is running for Senate, for being soft on crime in connection with the fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light rail two months ago. The group released a digital ad accusing Cooper of allowing violent criminals like the alleged attacker, Decarlos Brown Jr., to be repeatedly arrested and released under his watch. The ad highlights Brown’s prior arrests and mental health issues,linking his release to Cooper’s 2020 executive order aimed at “reimagining public safety” following the George Floyd protests. Cooper’s campaign counters that he signed stricter bail reform laws and denies any link between his policies and Zarutska’s murder. the attack has become a focal point in the North Carolina Senate race, with Republicans, including Cooper’s opponent Michael Whatley and former President Donald Trump, using it to challenge his record on crime.
GOP super PAC attacks Roy Cooper over crime on Charlotte train stabbing two-month anniversary
EXCLUSIVE — A leading Republican super PAC is attacking Democrat Roy Cooper, an ex-governor running for Senate in North Carolina, as soft on crime on the two-month anniversary of the fatal train stabbing of Iryna Zarutska.
The Senate Leadership Fund, a group aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), is airing a new ad on Wednesday calling the alleged attacker, Decarlos Brown Jr., one of the “violent criminals arrested and released, repeatedly, under Roy Cooper’s watch.”
The digital ad, first shared with the Washington Examiner, is running mainly in the Charlotte area, where Brown is accused of stabbing Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, in an unprovoked attack on the local light rail. The super PAC is putting four figures behind the ad.
“Roy Cooper’s failed tenure as governor put all North Carolinians at risk and fostered an environment where violent criminals like Decarlos Brown roamed freely as innocent bystanders paid the price,” Alex Latcham, the executive director of the Senate Leadership Fund, said in a statement.
“While it’s been two months since Iryna Zarutska’s tragic passing, North Carolinians must never forget what he took from us,” he added.
The ad begins with a video montage of news reports covering the stabbing, before stating that Brown, who has a history of prior arrests and apparent mental illness, was released from prison months after Roy signed an executive order to “reimagine public safety” in 2020.
Roy, who is expected to face Republican Michael Whatley in the North Carolina Senate race, has countered the attacks by noting he signed stricter bail reforms into law while serving as governor. His campaign also denies any connection between his policies and the murder of Zarutska.
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The executive order in question, signed in the aftermath of the George Floyd protests, created a task force for “racial equity in criminal justice,” but it did not publish its recommendations until months after Brown was released from jail for an armed robbery sentence.
The Senate Leadership Fund is just the latest Republican group to tie Roy to Zarutska’s death, with Whatley and even President Donald Trump making similar claims in the days after the stabbing became a national flashpoint over crime.
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