5 things to know about the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska

2. Federal agencies are investigating

Several members of the Trump administration have weighed in on Zarutska’s murder, announcing that federal investigations are underway to probe the tragedy. In a statement posted to X Sunday, FBI Director Kash Patel wrote, “The FBI has been investigating the Charlotte train murder from day one” and encouraged concerned members of the public to “Stay tuned.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced in an X post on Monday that his agency will be “investigating Charlotte over its failure to protect Iryna Zarutska” as he suggested that the city could lose federal funding. “If mayors can’t keep their trains and buses safe, they don’t deserve the taxpayers’ money,” he proclaimed. 

While most of the blame for Zarutska’s death has been directed at local officials, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt contended at the White House press briefing Tuesday that policies embraced by state officials played a role in creating a climate that led to the attack as well. “All the way back in 2020, North Carolina’s then-Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper established a so-called Task Force for Racial Equity and Criminal Justice,” she recalled. 

“It recommended ‘reimagining public safety to promote diversion and other alternatives to arrest.’ It also advised to de-emphasize some felony crimes, prioritize ‘restorative justice’ and eliminate cash bail,” she added. 

Leavitt highlighted how Trump signed an executive order last month directing U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to compile a list of states and localities that have “substantially eliminated cash bail as a potential condition of pretrial release from custody for crimes that pose a clear threat to public safety and order” and identify federal funds allocated to said states and localities “that may be suspended or terminated, as appropriate and consistent with federal law.”