GoFundMe pulled down several online fundraisers advocating for the suspect accused of murdering a Ukrainian refugee woman on a Charlotte, North Carolina, light rail.
The company said fundraising for legal defense of people charged with crimes violated GoFundMe’s terms of service.
The fundraising pages for Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, whose criminal rap sheet includes at least 14 prior arrests, said he is as much of a victim as Iryna Zarutska, the woman seen on the train’s security camera being stabbed to death.
Helping Brown would also aid the “fight against the racism and bias against our people,” one fundraiser said.
“While what happened on the Blue Line was a tragedy, what we mustn’t lose sight of is the fact that Decarlos Brown Jr. was failed categorically by the judicial system and the mental health services of North Carolina, and as such is not entirely to blame for what happened,” another page said.
“Raising money to assist with legal fees for Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr. Anything helps fight against the racism and bias against our people. Thank you for giving us a hand to push against this corrupt narrative,” another fundraiser claimed.
SEE ALSO: Young Ukrainian refugee’s mass transit stabbing death fuels uproar
“Everyone needs to REPORT this fundraiser at GoFundMe. Don’t let this POS get a single penny,” one user on X said.
Another X user asked, “The question is: WHY does a murderer and habitual offender even have a GoFundMe?”
GoFundMe yanked down the fundraising pages for Brown as reports of fundraising pages for Brown came to its attention.
“GoFundMe’s Terms of Service explicitly prohibit fundraisers that raise money for the legal defense of anyone formally charged with an alleged violent crime,” GoFundMe said in a statement.
“Consistent with this long-standing policy, this fundraiser has been removed from the platform and the donors who contributed to the fundraiser have been fully refunded.”
A fundraising page on GoFundMe has been set up for Ms. Zarutska’s family has raised over $75,000.
SEE ALSO: Trump decries ‘lunatic’ who killed Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska in subway stabbing
Brown, who is homeless, has been charged with murder following Ms. Zarutska’s homicide.
Mecklenburg County court and jail records, according to reports, show Brown has been arrested in connection with 14 cases over the last ten years.
He was convicted of felony larceny, robbery with a dangerous weapon and communicating threats. This led lto a six-year prison sentence in 2015 for incidents dating to 2013 and 2014. He was released in 2020.
North Carolina Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes granted the release of Brown, CBS News reported, following his arrest for misuse of the 911 system in January based upon a “written promise” that Brown would return for his court hearing, according to court records.
During the encounter with law enforcement, Brown, diagnosed with schizophrenia, told officers he thought there were “man-made” materials inside his body controlling his eating, walking and talking.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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