Was Decarlos Brown Jr., accused of killing Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, a foreign national who "came in through open borders," as Donald Trump said during the State of the Union address? No, that is not true: Brown was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and graduated from West Mecklenburg High School. Because he was born in the United States, he is a natural-born citizen under the Constitution.
The claim was made during the president's State of the Union address on Feb. 24, 2026. He said:
Last summer, 23-year-old Iryna was riding home on the train when a deranged monster, who had been arrested over a dozen times and was released through no cash bail, stood up and viciously slashed a knife through her neck and body. ...
She had escaped a brutal war, only to be slain by a hardened criminal set free to kill in America -- came in through open borders.
This is what the video looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Image Source: Lead Stories screenshot of X post.)
Here's the clip (archived here) from the president's speech where he makes the claim:
Decarlos Brown
Brown is accused of fatally stabbing Zarutska on a light rail train in Charlotte on Aug. 22, 2025. Video from the train showed the attack. Brown has been charged with first-degree murder in North Carolina. A federal grand jury also indicted him (archived here) in October 2025, charging Brown with "committing an act of violence causing death on a railroad carrier and mass transportation system."
For the last 10 years, Brown had been in and out of North Carolina's courts and jails, The Charlotte Observer reported (archived here). A month before the attack, a judge had ordered Brown to be mentally evaluated. His lawyer said he had "a long history" of mental health issues.
