Democrat Senate candidate Roy Cooper was seen running from an individual who asked why he chose to release Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr., the 34-year-old career criminal who has been charged with the murder of Iryna Zarutska in August of last year.
🚨YIKES: Roy Cooper PANICS and tries to RUN when confronted about releasing Iryna Zarutska's killer from prison early.
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 2, 2026
"Excuse me, Mr. Cooper, why did you release Decarlos Brown from prison early allowing him to kill...kill Iryna Zarutska? You have no comment?"
Cooper: *can't… pic.twitter.com/Su7f3ZrH4A
Iryna Zarutska was murdered by a violent criminal who Roy Cooper allowed to roam the streets after 14 arrests.
— Senate Republicans (@NRSC) September 9, 2025
This tragedy was preventable, but Roy Cooper was too busy focused on DEI and soft-on-crime policies.
He is dangerous and wrong for North Carolina. pic.twitter.com/XJBx21lB1c
An aide of Cooper’s then stepped in front of the individual in an attempt to prevent her from coming closer to Cooper to ask her questions about his abysmal record on law and order. Cooper attempted to escape through a revolving door at location, but was trapped when he discovered that it was out of service. The individual continued to pepper Cooper with questions as he attempted to make his getaway.
“You have no comment?” the woman asked. “Do you think Charlotte has a crime problem? Do you stand by releasing 3,500 prisoners as governor? You have no comment?”
Finally, Cooper managed to evade her by escaping through a side door.
Republicans have campaigned hard against Cooper for his soft-on-crime stance in what will be one of the most competitive Senate races this cycle.
