{"id":1399,"date":"2026-06-11T12:05:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T12:05:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1399"},"modified":"2026-06-11T12:05:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T12:05:55","slug":"transcript-what-decarlos-brown-jr-said-about-trump-during-charlotte-light-rail-hearing-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1399","title":{"rendered":"Transcript: What DeCarlos Brown Jr. said about Trump during Charlotte light rail hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a federal judge readied to join a state judge\u2019s decision to declare DeCarlos Brown Jr.<\/a> too mentally unwell to stand trial<\/a> in the Charlotte light rail stabbing<\/a> that killed Iryna Zarutska, Brown interrupted the judge and his attorneys to speak directly to the robed man seated ahead of and above him.<\/p>\n

Read more Transcript: What DeCarlos Brown Jr. said about Trump during Charlotte light rail hearing<\/a><\/p>\n

What exactly Brown, a 35-year-old man with schizophrenia, said to U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell in uptown\u2019s federal court Tuesday was unclear. He said something about \u201cTrump\u201d<\/a> and said that \u201cthe FBI refused to investigate\u201d something and that he wanted \u201cto press charges,\u201d The Charlotte Observer previously reported.<\/p>\n

A transcript of the hearing obtained by the Observer shows exactly what Brown told the Trump-appointed judge.<\/p>\n

Tuesday\u2019s somewhat routine competency hearing was meant for attorneys, prosecutors and the judge to review a psychiatric report<\/a> and get on the same page about Brown\u2019s mental state and his ability \u2014 or inability \u2014 to understand the federal charges filed against him in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. Brown faces a rare 9\/11-era charge in federal court tied to his killing of Zarutska specifically aboard mass transit.<\/p>\n

The charge could result in the death penalty upon conviction, but \u201cOur Constitution requires that \u2026 [Brown] cannot be tried or sentenced to death\u201d while suffering from a mental illness that stunts his ability to understand what is happening, his attorneys wrote in a motion ahead of the hearing.<\/p>\n

After Bell explained that and rehashed some details of the case, he asked Brown\u2019s specially-appointed death penalty lawyer if he had any additional comments.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Your Honor,\u201d attorney Joshua Kendrick replied. \u201cI would note that prior to the hearing we did give you a written statement that expressed our client\u2019s feelings about this procedure and future proceedings. And we have explained to him that, of course, this is your courtroom as far as how the rules will work and that you have that information and will consider it in your ruling. \u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cI got a copy right here for you, too,\u201d Brown said of the paper, which read: \u201csomeone has full access to my body and they are controlling me wrongfully … I was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a copy. I have a copy,\u201d Bell replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe same copy?\u201d Brown asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have exactly the same copy,\u201d Bell assured him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout informing Donald Trump \u2014,\u201d Brown began.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Brown,\u201d Bell interrupted.<\/p>\n

\u201d\u2014 that I got a body emergency,\u201d Brown said. Bell interjected with another cautionary \u201cMr. Brown.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2014 that needs to be taken care of,\u201d Brown finished.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Brown, stop talking now,\u201d Bell commanded.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the FBI refuses to investigate and I want to press charges, and I want the media to know that. That\u2019s it,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Brown, if you\u2019re going to remain in the courtroom, you\u2019re going to remain quiet,\u201d Bell said.<\/p>\n

Read more Th\u00e9oden Janes: What did we learn from readers after the Myers Park suicides story?<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI just had to get that out,\u201d Brown responded.<\/p>\n

Brown did not speak again until the end of the hearing. His mother came into the courtroom immediately after her son\u2019s brief dialogue with the judge.<\/p>\n

Bell, as expected, found Brown mentally incompetent.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Brown is remanded to the custody of the Attorney General for evaluation,\u201d Bell ordered, saying Brown will be checked in to a prison medical facility for up to four months of rehabilitation. \u201cForced medication\u201d could be an option later on, but Brown doctors must study Brown,<\/a> and he must again appear in court before that decision can be made.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d Brown asked as U.S. marshals moved toward him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll come see you,\u201d Megan Hoffman, the first assistant federal public defender said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, my mom got a letter for you, too, though,\u201d Brown said to the judge. \u201cAnd I want to press charges on the judge for making this court hearing. I got an emergency.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown has long insisted that a \u201cman-made material\u201d is inside his body<\/a> and controlling his every move. In January 2025, he was arrested and charged with misusing 911, a misdemeanor, after he dialed the emergency number for help with his emergency.<\/p>\n

A magistrate judge released him within hours on the condition that he come back to court when he was supposed to. He did.<\/p>\n

Seven months later, on Aug. 22, Brown boarded a LYNX Blue Line light rail train moving through South End Charlotte on a busy Friday night.<\/p>\n

Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, sat in front of Brown, and he stabbed her, unprovoked. She died in her work uniform.<\/p>\n

Brown was charged with murder in state court before U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson announced the federal charge. The state case is on pause<\/a> until the federal case concludes. The state charge could also end in a death sentence, but North Carolina has had a de-facto moratorium on death penalties for nearly 20 years.<\/p>\n

After Tuesday\u2019s hearing, Ferguson said: \u201cOur number one goal here is justice for Iryna Zarutska and Iryna Zarutska\u2019s family. That\u2019s what\u2019s on the top of our minds and our hearts every day, and this is a step in that process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Family gunfight at 12:30 am sent bullets into nearby homes, Huntersville police say<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Read the exact remarks DeCarlos Brown Jr. made about Trump, the FBI and pressing charges during his competency hearing in uptown Charlotte federal court.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1397,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nTranscript: What DeCarlos Brown Jr. said about Trump during Charlotte light rail hearing - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1399\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Transcript: What DeCarlos Brown Jr. said about Trump during Charlotte light rail hearing - 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