Erika Kirk was seen embracing the mother of a Ukrainian woman who was slain by a career criminal onboard a train in North Carolina at President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday.
The president spoke about his efforts to make the United States safer, when he brought up Iryna Zarutska’s shocking murder onboard a packed Charlotte light rail train in August.
‘We are honored to be joined tonight by a woman who’s been through hell,’ Trump said as he introduced Zarutska’s mother, Anna, and told how their family fled war-torn Ukraine to live with relatives near Charlotte.
He then decried how a ‘deranged monster who had been arrested over a dozen times and released through cash bail stood up and viciously slashed a knife through [Iryna’s] neck and body.
‘No one will ever forget there were people on that train,’ Trump said. ‘No one will ever forget the expression of terror on Iryna’s face as she looked up at her attacker at the last seconds of her life – she died instantly.’
‘She had escaped a brutal war only to be slain by a hardened criminal, set free to kill,’ he continued, before addressing Anna directly.
‘Mrs. Zarutska, tonight I promise you we will ensure justice for your magnificent daughter, Iryna.’
As the president spoke, Anna was seen bawling into a tissue, as Erika put her hand on the distraught mother’s shoulder and was seen telling her something directly.
Erika Kirk was seen embracing Anna Zarutska, the mother of Iryna Zarutska, who was killed by a career criminal onboard a North Carolina train in August
Erika Kirk was seen putting her hand on the distraught mother’s shoulder as she bawled into a tissue as the president spoke about the shocking murder at the State of the Union address
Iryna Zarutska, 23, was killed onboard a Lynx Blue Line train in Charlotte on August 22
The Trump administration has long condemned the senseless attack and the fact that the man accused of stabbing her, Decarlos Brown Jr, had been released after a misdemeanor charge months before the crime.
He had spent most of his life in and out of prison, serving five years behind bars for an armed robbery with a dangerous weapon in 2015.
Brown was then released in September 2020 and went right back to his old ways.
His most recent arrest before Iryna’s murder came on January 19, 2025, when he was taken into custody for ‘misuse of the 911 system’ but was released without bail.
The career criminal was then caught on surveillance footage onboard a Lynx Blue Line train in Charlotte on August 22 watching Iryna for some time as she sat in the row directly in front of him, before taking what appeared to be a blade from his pocket.
Brown then stood up and loomed over the 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, swinging the knife at her as she sat on her phone.
As he exited the train, Brown left behind a trail of blood – though other passengers did not seem to realize the murder that occurred in front of them.
Video then showed Zarutska curled up with her knees against her chest and her hands over her mouth while she looks up at her attacker. About 15 seconds later, she fell to the floor.
At that point, passengers started making frantic phone calls to police. Bystanders were seen trying to stop the bleeding by putting pressure on her wounds.
The man accused of murdering Iryna, Decarlos Brown Jr, had spent most of his life in and out of prison, serving five years behind bars for an armed robbery with a dangerous weapon
He was seen on surveillance footage standing up and looming over the 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, swinging the knife at her as she sat on her phone
Brown has since been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of violence against a railroad carrier and mass transportation system resulting in death last month.
The indictment notes that he could be eligible for the death penalty, based on his prior conviction in 2015 for robbery with a dangerous weapon.
He is also facing a first-degree murder charge at the state level.
Both crimes can now be punished with life in prison or the death penalty, after North Carolina Governor Josh Stein signed a bill into law reinstating the use of the death penalty in the state.
There had previously been a moratorium on the death penalty in North Carolina since the early 2000s.
The new law, entitled ‘Iryna’s Law,’ also aimed to end cashless bail and expedite death penalty cases in the Tarheel State.
In the meantime, Brown remains behind bars as he awaits trial.
Trump vowed to get justice for Iryna’s murder at the State of the Union on Tuesday. Members of the gallery are seen applauding Anna Zarutska as the president spoke
As the nation was still reeling from the young woman’s murder in early September, conservative commentator Charlie Kirk paid tribute to Iryna in one of his last posts
Charlie Kirk was then killed by a gunman at Utah Valley University, leaving Erika as a widow
But as the nation was still reeling from the young woman’s murder in early September, conservative commentator Charlie Kirk paid tribute to Iryna.
‘America will never be the same,’ Kirk wrote in one of his final tweets, sharing a photo of Iryna hunched over in her seat on the train while Brown loomed over her.
It came just hours before Charlie was gunned down at Utah Valley University – another incident the president brought up on Tuesday as he introduced Charlie’s widow, Erika.
‘Last year, Charlie was violently murdered by an assassin and martyred, really martyred for his beliefs,’ Trump said before turning his attention to Erika, whom he and Republican members of the House of Representatives applauded.
People in the galley could then be heard chanting Charlie’s name as Erika stood next to Anna Zarutska.
Once the cheers died down, Trump noted that Erika has ‘been through a lot’ as he thanked her for attending the speech.
‘In Charlie’s memory, we must all come together to reaffirm that America is one nation under God, and we must totally reject political violence of any kind,’ he then declared, prompting members of both political parties to give a standing ovation.
