House Democrats who leapt to the defense of a homeless career criminal killed on public transit after threatening passengers have been largely silent after a man with similar characteristics fatally stabbed a 23-year-old woman on a train.
The Daily Caller News Foundation pressed four prominent Democratic lawmakers who issued hysterical responses to Jordan Neely’s subway death in 2023 about their silence on the slaying of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska who was brutally stabbed by a repeat offender on a Charlotte light rail train in August. The lawmakers either declined to comment or accused critics calling out their silence of seeking to politicize Zarutska’s murder — despite their eagerness to comment on Neely’s death just two years prior.
“I have no comment,” Democratic California Rep. Maxine Waters told the DCNF on Thursday when asked about the lack of attention that Democrats have shown to Zarutska’s murder.
Waters, however, penned an op-ed in HuffPost claiming that Neely had been “violently murdered by a vigilante” less than two weeks after the chokehold incident. The California Democrat made the striking claim the repeat offender had been targeted because he was hungry and homeless.
She has yet to publicly comment on the Charlotte train killing.
Democratic New Jersey Rep. LaMonica McIver, who is facing criminal three charges after allegedly assaulting law enforcement in May, criticized Republicans for blaming soft-on-crime policies for enabling Zarutska’s murder, during a brief interview with the DCNF. The New Jersey Democrat had not commented on the public transit slaying prior to the interview, but told the DCNF she was praying for the Ukrainian refugee’s family and friends.
“This is not a political moment — like this is someone who’s lost their life who’s been murdered on the subway and it’s an awful situation,” McIver told the DCNF. “The number one thing we should be doing is worrying about how do we keep our constituents safe?”
McIver claimed Penny was “lynched” two days after Penny was found not guilty by a Manhattan jury.
Democratic Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley declined to speak to the DCNF when pressed why she has yet to comment on Zarutska’s murder. A spokesperson for Pressley told the DCNF that the congresswoman would be releasing a statement on the fatal train stabbing later in the day, but the DCNF could not identify any public comments before publication.
Pressley asserted Neely was “lynched” on New York city transit two days after the chokehold death and called for Penny to be held accountable.
“He was 30 years old. Black men deserve to grow old — not be lynched on a Subway because they were having a mental health crisis,” Pressley wrote on X.
Marine veteran Daniel Penny subdued Neely in a fatal chokehold after the mentally ill individual reportedly began threatening other passengers in May 2023. He was acquitted of criminal negligent homicide last December after a jury dismissed charges brought by Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg over the subway death. Neely had been arrested more than 42 times — including for assaulting women on at least three occasions — prior to the chokehold incident.
Republicans have argued that Democrats’ support for soft-on-crime policies that allowed Neely to continue victimizing people despite dozens of arrests also enabled Decarlos Brown Jr. to fatally stab Zarutska in the neck three times during an unprovoked attack. Brown, who suffers from schizophrenia, had at least 14 prior arrests under his belt and was let out of prison on cashless bail in January.
Vice President JD Vance called out Democrats for condemning Penny’s actions to defend his fellow subway passengers in the wake of the fatal Charlotte train stabbing, alluding to the fact that no one came to Zarutska’s aid in her final moments.
“Daniel Penny prevented this from happening on a NYC subway,” Vice President JD Vance wrote on the social media platform X on Wednesday. “Instead of thanking him, many hated him for it.”
The DCNF also asked Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez about Zarutska’s murder. The de facto Democratic Party leader offered her condolences to Zarutska’s family, but suggested they extended “everyone involved.”
“It is so heartbreaking and horrific. No one should ever have to endure that kind of loss in their life,” Ocasio-Cortez told the DCNF. “My heart absolutely breaks for Iryna’s family and everyone involved.”
Ocasio-Cortez notably voiced anger following the death of Neely, arguing the repeat offender had been murdered because New York City elected officials “demonize the poor.”
The post was viewed more than 21 million times. The New York congresswoman has not similarly highlighted the slaying of Zarutska nor expressed outrage following the murder.
“Far-left radicals like AOC were quick to condemn Daniel Penny as a murderer for defending innocent people on public transit from a violent repeat offender, so their silence on the brutal murder of Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte speaks volumes,” a spokesperson for Golden Age Rising, an issue advocacy group, told the DCNF. “The Violent Criminals First agenda on the left is unsafe, unpopular and wrong for law-abiding Americans who deserve better than what they’ve done to the justice system in this country.”
Andi Shae Napier and Caden Olson contributed to this report.
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