Axios came under scrutiny on Monday for accusing supporters of President Donald Trump of using the brutal murder of a Ukrainian refugee in Charlotte, North Carolina, to suggest that crime is getting worse.
Surveillance footage released on Friday showed DeCarlos Brown, a homeless ex-convict with 14 prior court cases, fatally stabbing 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska on a light rail train on Aug. 22. After the media largely ignored this tragic incident, Axios published the piece, “Stabbing video fuels MAGA’s crime message,” to suggest that “MAGA influencers” are using this surveillance footage to draw “repeated attention” to violent crime.
“MAGA influencers are drawing repeated attention to violent attacks to elevate the issue of urban crime — and accuse mainstream media of under-covering shocking cases … The rising number of surveillance cameras in public spaces, including on Charlotte’s light rail, has become a big accelerant in these cases,” Axios’ Marc Caputo wrote. “The video is easily shared or leaked, and can instantly pollinate across social media — a visual counterpoint to statistics showing crime decreases.”
The gruesome video of the fatal knife attack on Iryna Zarutska on a light-rail car in Charlotte is drawing attention from MAGA influencers seeking to elevate the issue of violent urban crime — and accuse mainstream media of under-covering shocking cases. https://t.co/OIj3FYfDLE
— Axios (@axios) September 8, 2025
Caputo highlighted remarks made by tech billionaire Elon Musk, White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller, Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. The article also argued that Republican North Carolina Senate candidate Michael Whatley “invoked” the horrific stabbing to go after Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper for being “soft on crime.”
The article received intense backlash on X by conservatives who were outraged by the tragedy. Blaze Media podcaster and author Auron McIntyre posted a Simpsons meme with the words, “You don’t hate journalists enough. You think you do but you don’t.”
— Auron MacIntyre (@AuronMacintyre) September 8, 2025
“Man you really could have just said nothing. This is disgusting,” Pirate Wire’s Mike Solana said.
man you really could have just said nothing. this is disgusting.
— Mike Solana (@micsolana) September 8, 2025
“‘Influencers notice thing,’” journalist Stephen L. Miller said.
“Influencers notice thing”
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) September 8, 2025
“Oh no. How dare people talk about an issue that matters instead of whining about a Karen who took a baseball,” journalist Ian Miles Cheong said.
“How dare people be outraged a brutal murder occurred and the perpetrator should have long ago been locked up,” NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck wrote.
Axios also downplayed the comparison between the coverage of Zarutska’s murder and the case revolving around Daniel Penny, who held an erratic homeless man in a chokehold on a New York City subway train. Penny, who was found not guilty on criminally negligent homicide in December, received praise from witnesses of the chokehold who were fearful of 30-year-old Jordan Neely’s behavior.
The media repeatedly attempted to convince the public that crime had gone down while Trump was cracking down on violent crime in major U.S. cities. In Washington, D.C., Trump’s federal takeover and deployment led to over 2,100 arrests and 214 illegal gun confiscations, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi. There has only been one murder in the nation’s capital since the crackdown began in August.
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