Democrat lawmakers refused to honour the memory of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee brutally murdered by a career criminal in North Carolina in August 2025, during President Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday.
Speaking about the horrific details of the attack, which happened on a late-night train in Charlotte, Trump introduced Zarutska’s mother, who was seated in the gallery. The Republican side of the aisle welcomed her with a prolonged standing ovation, while many Democrats remained seated in silence.
‘I look over at the other side, and I see people sitting down,’ Trump said, gesturing toward the Democratic benches. ‘How do you not stand? How do you not stand for a mother who lost her daughter to a monster who should have never been on our streets? You should be ashamed of yourselves,’ he added.
Social media users, echoing Trump’s reaction, also expressed outrage at what many described as disrespect towards Zarutska and her family, calling Democrats ‘shameful’ and ‘evil’.
The murder of Iryna Zarutska sparked outrage throughout the United States, as both state Democrats and mainstream media stayed silent on the issue. Democrat Mayor of Charlotte Vi Lyles even thanked ‘our media partners and community members’ who had chosen not to repost or share footage of the brutal stabbing.
Zarutska’s killer, Decarlos Brown Jr, had been arrested 14 times before killing the young woman, reigniting criticism over Democrats’ ‘soft-on-crime’ policies, which have led to increasingly high crime rates in blue states.
North Carolina moved to tighten criminal laws after the murder, passing the so-called ‘Iryna’s Law’ back in December 2025. The legislation strengthens pre-trial release rules by eliminating ‘cashless bail’ for many violent offences and repeat offenders, compelling secure bond or GPS-monitored house arrest instead of release on a promise to return. It establishes a new requirement that judicial officials order mental-health evaluations—and, if indicated, involuntary commitment—for defendants charged with violent crimes who have a recent history of psychiatric issues or are deemed dangerous.
The law also revamps death penalty procedures: it mandates that pending death penalty appeals be scheduled within a fixed timeline (hearing by end-2026, final hearing by end-2027) and allows alternative execution methods—eg firing squad or electric chair—if lethal injection is unavailable. It also adds committing a capital crime on public transportation as an aggravating factor, strengthens oversight of magistrates, and directs a study of mental health and justice system intersecting issues.
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