By Cindy Von Quednow, Hannah Rabinowitz

(CNN) — A repeat criminal offender is facing a federal charge in the fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian refugee last month on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the latest escalation of a case fueling a White House crusade against purported violent crime in Democratic-led cities.

Decarlos Brown, 34, was charged Tuesday with one count of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system, after Iryna Zarutska, 23, was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack August 22 inside a light rail car. Brown also has been charged in North Carolina with first-degree murder.

CNN has reached out to Brown’s attorney for comment.

Brown used a pocketknife during the crime, which was found near a train platform, an affidavit in support of the criminal complaint filed against him states.

Recently released video of the stabbing and Brown’s lengthy criminal history have stirred a simmering debate about crime in major US cities, with many Republicans – up to President Donald Trump – pointing to the attack as justification for the federal government to send troops into urban hubs such as Chicago and Washington, DC.

“We will seek the maximum penalty for this unforgivable act of violence — he will never again see the light of day as a free man,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement on X. “I have directed my attorneys to federally prosecute DeCarlos Brown Jr., a repeat violent offender with a history of violent crime, for murder. We will seek the maximum penalty for this unforgivable act of violence — he will never again see the light of day as a free man.”

The attack is also being investigated by the FBI.

FBI Director Kash Patel called the stabbing a “brutal attack” and a “disgraceful act.”

“The @FBI immediately surged into action to ensure justice is served and to make clear that violent criminals will never be allowed to walk free again,” Patel said in his own X post.

Brown has a lengthy criminal history, including convictions for armed robbery, felony larceny and breaking and entering. Family members told CNN he has a history of mental health struggles, and his sister said she believes he had a mental breakdown that night.

Brown spent more than five years behind bars for robbery with a dangerous weapon, state records show. North Carolina state records list 14 cases for Brown, other than those related to the killing. They date back to 2011 and include arrests for minor offenses like speeding and shoplifting. It is unclear how many of them were prosecuted.

He had been charged with misuse of 911, a class 1 misdemeanor, earlier this year after he allegedly asked officers to investigate a “man-made” material that controlled when he ate, walked and talked, court documents state.

Officers told him there was nothing they could do and “the issue was a medical issue.” Upset, he called 911, the records state.

His release was conditioned on a written promise he would appear for his next hearing, according to court records.

The White House said his release left him “free to slaughter an innocent woman just months later.”

The-CNN-Wire
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