Community Leaders Protest Politicization of Iryna Zarutska’s Murder Outside Hearing

Around 50 people gathered in front of the Charles R. Jones Federal Building ahead of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight’s public hearing for Victims of Violent Crime on Monday to protest the use of Iryna Zarutska’s murder for partisan gain and fearmongering. 

Zarutska was murdered on a Blue Line car on Aug. 22, garnering national attention and criticism of Mecklenburg County’s criminal justice system.

Local organizations Indivisible Charlotte and The Poor People’s Campaign held the demonstration and press conference Monday as several faith leaders spoke ahead of the hearing.

“We come together to denounce the horror of this violence, not just in one instance on one train, on one day, but in every instance where it is found,” said Dr. Rodney Sadler, a local pastor who recently announced his intention to challenge NC Rep. Carla Cunningham for her seat in next year’s elections. 

“We come together to recognize that, more than just hating violence, we have to understand that when violence has come in a nation that is denied adequate mental health care for its people, violence is inevitable.”

“Let’s be clear: This hearing is not about justice, it’s about exploitation,” said Rev. Janet Garner-Mullins. “When federal officials come to our city and hand pick their audience, they’re not seeking truth, they’re staging a show. They’re using Charlotte’s pain as a prop.”

On June 17, 2015, Rev. Sharon Risher’s mother and cousins were killed when a gunman opened fire during a service at Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. 

“What’s happening in our city today further lets us know that if we don’t care for our children and our community, no one else will,” Risher said.

Rev. Bruce Baker-Rooks emphasized that Charlotte cannot have people coming in from out of state that know nothing about the city and try to provide solutions.

”We must address the crime in this community, but we must address it locally,” he said. 

US Rep. Alma Adams spoke to the crowd before joining the hearing’s panel, claiming that her Republican colleagues are “shamelessly politicizing” Zarutska’s death and are only in Charlotte because they want to secure a seat in the Senate next year.

”I wholeheartedly welcome a real, engaging discussion on how we can make our country safer, but that’s not what this field hearing is about,” she said. “The hearing today is about fear mongering … and rather than offer solutions, Republicans want to make North Carolinians afraid.”

Chair of the Subcommittee on Oversight Jefferson Van Drew began the hearing by condemning the “bad ideology, perverse and bizarre thoughts” of today’s society, including open borders and the ability for transgender children to change their names and pronouns before addressing the issue they were there to discuss: releasing repeat offenders.

The GOP members of the subcommittee along with Republican NC representatives criticized the state and county’s “soft-on-crime” laws that they said incentivizes crime by providing no real punishment.

Zarutska’s killer had been arrested more than a dozen times and was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Mia Alderman, grandmother of murder victim Mary Collins, and Steve Federico, father of murder victim Logan Federico, gave speeches on the tragic events that led up to their loved one’s murders.

Though Mary Collins was murdered in 2020, her case has still not gone to trial. 

“Five years is not justice. Five years is torment,” said Alderman. “Every day of delay deepens the wound for our family and makes a mockery of accountability. What makes this even more unbearable is how the justice system has handled those accused of Mary’s murder.”

Read more: Doubts and Delays Hindered Mary Collins Murder Investigation (2021)

The people arrested for Collins’ murder are currently free, released on bond, despite one suspect’s repeated violations of her ankle monitor limitations, including a curfew, Alderman said.

“This is not just about two young women,” Alderman said of Collins and Zarutska. “It’s about the justice system in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina that is failing the very people it is sworn to protect. We need accountability. We need reform. We need to ensure that those accused of heinous crimes are swiftly prosecuted, that they’re not allowed to be released on bond and just live their life.”

Logan Federico’s murderer had been arrested 39 times, 25 of those arrests being felonies, before he killed her. Federico’s father said the assailant should have been in jail for over 140 years for his crimes but only served about 600 days.

On April 29, 2024, CMPD Officer Justin Campbell and several other CMPD and Marshal Service officers were called to serve a warrant to a convicted felon for possession of a firearm when one CMPD officer and three Marshals were killed. Campbell suffered injuries to his foot that resulted in amputation.

The gunman had been arrested and released several times before that day.

“Now I ask you, why is it that we take people who commit these heinous crimes and we do not hold them accountable for their actions?” Campbell questioned. “We sit there and we try to give it a reason as a mental health issue or some other type of issues that realistically doesn’t take blame. Now, the judicial system here in Mecklenburg County, I can speak firsthand, is trash. And I’ll say it again, over and over again.”

Read more: Light Rail Killing Exposes Gaps in NC’s Mental Health System

The panel’s Republican members claimed the Democratic-led city’s soft-on-crime policies lead to tragic results and denied that additional funding would have saved any of the young women that were represented during Monday’s hearing, despite former western NC U.S. attorney Dena King’s testimony that adequate funding would support law enforcement and prosecutor’s offices’ goal in expediting backlogged cases.

They also failed to acknowledge that, though Decarlos Brown was arrested 14 times over the 18 years that preceded his alleged murder of Iryna Zarutska, many of those arrests came during the time from 2011-2017 when Republican Andrew Murray, now Trump’s chief federal prosecutor in the region, served as Mecklenburg County District Attorney.

On Sept. 23, the NC House of Representative voted 81-31 to approve a sweeping criminal justice reform bill called “Iryna’s Law,” which would eliminate cashless bail, restrict pretrial releases, require defendants to undergo mental health evaluations and could potentially restart capital punishment in North Carolina.

The Republican-led bill is now sitting on Gov. Josh Stein’s desk for approval.

“I’ve seen multiple committees such as this one, and words are exchanged, but action never comes to it,” Campbell said. “So I’m going to ask you guys, all of you to at some point, look at us and look at their future victims, because there will be more, and say, ‘At what point do we hold them accountable for their actions, and stop playing this political circus game?”