Tag: north carolina

Far-Left Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles ABRUPTLY RESIGNS Just Months After Reelection Following Tenure Marred by Brutal Light Rail Murder of Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska

Another Democrat-run city is in absolute chaos.

Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, the 73-year-old radical Democrat who has presided over the “Queen City” since 2017, dropped a bombshell on Thursday, announcing her immediate resignation effective June 30.

The nation’s 14th-largest city just handed Lyles another four years on the job in November 2025, but now she’s suddenly bolting for the exits, claiming she wants to spend more time with her grandchildren and “allow for new leadership.”

“Serving as Charlotte’s mayor has been the honor of my life,” Mayor Lyles said.

“I am proud of our record navigating various challenges, strengthening our economy, investing in our neighborhoods, and building a foundation for Charlotte’s continued success during a time of rapid growth. Now, it is time for the next phase of my life, to spend more time with my grandchildren and for someone new to lead us forward.”

“I am very proud of my record as mayor, but I also firmly believe that true leadership includes knowing when it is time to let the next generation of leaders take over,” she said.

“By leaving early, the voters will have more time to learn about their candidates. Our city is strong, our trajectory is positive, and now is the right moment for someone else to build on our progress from the past few years.”

“As in all things politics, I am sure there will be speculation as to why I am making this decision now. Simply put, I am going to spend time with my grandchildren. Like many of us, I have missed some moments with them and intend to not miss anymore!”

Sure, Vi. Or maybe it’s the mounting pressure from the horrific crime scandals, the backlash over her handling of the brutal murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, and the reality that her far-left leadership has turned Charlotte into yet another failing blue-city disaster under Democrat rule.

In September 2025, the innocent Ukrainian refugee was viciously stabbed to death in broad daylight on a Charlotte light rail platform by a repeat-offender vagrant with a lengthy criminal record.

The graphic video of the attack was initially suppressed by local media, with Lyles herself publicly thanking outlets for not releasing the footage “out of respect for the family.”

Once the video inevitably surfaced online, the public outrage was explosive, forcing the Democrat mayor to backtrack as residents demanded accountability for the soft-on-crime policies that let dangerous transients roam free.

Lyles’ response? More excuses about “mental health” and “court system failures” instead of cracking down on the vagrants and criminals terrorizing her city. It’s the same Democrat playbook that’s destroyed cities from San Francisco to Chicago, and Charlotte under Lyles has been no exception.

Just months later, we reported how federal agents under President Trump flooded Charlotte to round up illegal immigrants, only for Lyles and her fellow radical Democrats to whine about “unnecessary fear” and cry that residents just wanted to “go about their lives.” Of course they did, the lives of law-abiding citizens who are sick of the chaos their leaders created.

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Almost Half the 3,500 Criminals Former NC Dem Gov. Roy Cooper Released Went on to Reoffend — and Now He’s Running for Senate

More than one thousand criminals who were released back into the streets on former Gov. Roy Cooper’s (D-NC) watch went on to reoffend, according to an analysis of those released.

Cooper’s administration released roughly 3,500 criminals back onto the streets during the coronavirus pandemic after being sued by the ACLU and the NAACP, which claimed it was cruel to leave inmates detained due to the risk of catching the illness.  At the time, Rev. Dr. T. Anthony Spearman, President of the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, put it this way: “We cannot leave our brothers and sisters who are incarcerated — and who are disproportionately black and brown — to die behind bars during this global emergency.”

Then-Gov. Cooper ultimately signed a settlement, resulting in the release of these criminals.

However, Cooper, now vying for a Senate seat, placed the list of released prisoners sealed under court order. As his Republican challenger Michael Whatley explained to Breitbart News Daily, he sealed it so no one could see it, but assured North Carolinians that no violent criminals were released. The North Carolina legislature has since been able to secure that list, which shows that Cooper did, in fact, lie to his own people. He released murderers and rapists alike, and over 50 of the released criminals were serving life sentences.

Speaking of Cooper, Whatley said, “The fact is that he released 51 people who were serving life sentences at the time. The fact is that he released hundreds of violent criminals, rapists, pedophiles. I mean, it was, it was really a horrific list of people that he released at the time.”

And it gets worse.

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North Carolina Uncovers 34,000 Dead Voters Still on the Rolls, State Board Admits it’s ‘Higher Than We Anticipated’

The North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) announced Monday that it has identified approximately 34,000 deceased individuals still listed on the state’s voter rolls.

The discovery was made through a comprehensive data cross-check against the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database, the same system used to verify the U.S. citizenship of registered voters.

Officials submitted 7,397,734 voter records to the SAVE system in April as part of an ongoing effort to clean up the rolls and ensure only eligible citizens can vote.

NCSBE Executive Director Sam Hayes admitted the massive number of deceased people on the state’s voter rolls caught them off guard.

“While we expected to find some cases, this is higher than we anticipated,” Hayes said in a press release.

Hayes continued, “The benefit of entering into cross-state and federal database checks is that it allows us to uncover issues like this. Our goal is to use every available and legal tool at our disposal to achieve the most accurate voter rolls possible. Now, we must roll up our sleeves and begin the hard work to act of verifying that every person registered to vote in North Carolina is eligible. Our team, along with our state and federal will do what’s necessary to meet this responsibility.”

The press release stressed that North Carolina already receives weekly updates on in-state deaths from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, which are handled at the county level.

However, the SAVE match is helping catch voters who moved out of state, registered in North Carolina, and later passed away elsewhere, a gap that regular state processes had missed.

Election officials said that the presence of these names on the rolls does not mean illegal votes were cast in their names.

The Board says it will now follow established verification procedures, cross-check additional databases, and work with county boards to remove the deceased voters.

Republican North Carolina Congressman Mark Harris reacted on X, calling the situation “a failure” and demanding immediate action.

“This isn’t a mistake—it’s a failure,” Harris wrote.

Harris continued, “Election integrity is non-negotiable. Fix it now. Pass the SAVE American Act!”

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Picture-postcard mountain city becomes a hotbed for crime and homelessness leaving locals frightened and scaring tourists away

A picturesque mountain city has turned into a hotbed for crime and homelessness, severely unsettling locals and deterring tourists from visiting.

Asheville, North Carolina, has long been touted as a city with a homely feel on the Blue Ridge Mountains which embodies its motto of ‘quality of service, quality of life.’

However, locals in the city of 95,000 residents have claimed that quality of life has turned dour as the city struggles to deal with rampant homelessness.

This has caused encampments and panhandling to become much more common around town.

‘Homelessness, drug abuse and related crimes have increased relentlessly under the watch of local homelessness experts and a governing body that is dominated by liberal Democrats and those with an even more extreme view to the left,’ Carl Mumpower, a lifelong Asheville resident, told Fox News Digital.

‘The single most common phrase uttered by county and surrounding area residents is ‘I don’t go downtown anymore – it’s nasty, crazy and scary,’ Mumpower added.

Mumpower argued that Asheville has struggled to address homelessness since about three decades ago, slamming what he perceived to be a liberal bias among local leadership.

‘That lack of balance – the last conservative on the council was in 2009 – has led to a myopic repeat of errors,’ he told the outlet.

Mumpower said Asheville had a ‘persisting history of pursuing fantasized interventions over more realistic, measurable and trackable solutions.’ 

At least 824 people experienced homelessness in Asheville last year, according to city data reported by Blue Ridge Public Radio.

That marked a nine percent uptick from last year, largely due to the continued effects of Hurricane Helene in 2024.

That marked a slight uptick from 739 in 2024, largely due to the effects of Hurricane Helene that September.

‘Asheville began its efforts to address homelessness at least three decades ago,’ he explained. ‘This effort accelerated in the early part of this century with the first ‘Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness.’

Mumpower, who who was a City Council member from 2001 until 2009, called that plan was ‘ill–advised.’ Mumpower told Fox News Digital.

‘At the time, I suggested to the council that any plan that removed personal accountability from the helping equation was doomed to fail,’ he said.

The disgruntled local said ‘that plan and subsequent plans have failed with equal enthusiasm.’

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North Carolina Youth Group Trained Teens as Young as 14 to Become ‘Abortion Doulas’ in Two-Day Event at UNC Charlotte

A recent report has uncovered that a youth collective affiliated with Advocates for Youth hosted a two-day in-person “Abortion Support Training” at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in November, explicitly open to participants as young as 14 years old.

The event was organized by the Youth Abortion Support Collective (YouthASC), a nationwide network of young people under the umbrella of Advocates for Youth.

The training aimed to teach attendees the tools, resources, and skills needed for “abortion support” work, including how to become an “abortion doula,” companion, or support person.

According to the official event invitation, the training was described as follows:

“This training is for young people ages 14-24 and will provide an introduction to the tools, resources, and skills for abortion support work. We welcome anyone who is interested in becoming an abortion doula, companion, and/or support person. The training will center youth-led abortion support efforts, specifically for high school and college students, but we will also discuss how to offer support as community members and continue advocacy after leaving campus.”

The invitation further explained the role of an “abortion doula” using a definition from Dopo, the partner organization that helped develop the curriculum:

“Anyone that can physically, emotionally, and/or spiritually hold space for someone before, during, and/or after abortion.”

The program covered clinical and non-clinical settings for procedural and medical abortions, as well as strategies for organizing campus communities to build networks.

The training was promoted as part of a broader national effort by YouthASC to make “abortion doula” training accessible to activists aged 14–24. Advocates for Youth has run similar youth-focused programs, including multi-week online series and in-person sessions at other campuses.

The group has also hosted panels on “abortion funding for minors, challenges young people face in accessing care, and the state of abortion access in our region.”

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Ex-Dem Sen. Sinema Admits to Sleeping With Her Married Bodyguard in 5 Different Cities Before He Left His Wife, According to Shocking Court Docs

Former Democrat Senator Kyrsten Sinema is facing explosive allegations after newly filed court documents revealed she admitted to carrying on a sexual relationship with her married bodyguard in multiple cities across the United States while she was still serving in public office.

According to sworn filings submitted in federal court, Sinema acknowledged that her relationship with security officer Matthew Ammel became “romantic and intimate” in 2024, months before he separated from his wife, AP reported.

The stunning admission came as Sinema attempts to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Ammel’s ex-wife, who accuses the former senator of destroying her 14-year marriage under North Carolina’s “alienation of affection” law, a statute that allows spouses to sue third parties for interfering in their marriage.

In the sworn declaration, Sinema laid out a timeline of encounters that reportedly took place in at least five different cities across the country.

According to the filing, the two were first physically intimate in May 2024 while Ammel was on a security detail with Sinema in Sonoma, California. The relationship then allegedly continued with additional encounters in:

  • New York City
  • Washington, D.C.
  • Aspen, Colorado
  • Phoenix, Arizona

Court records indicate the pair were intimate at least six times across those locations before Ammel eventually separated from his wife later that year.

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Three Mexican Citizens charged with trafficking agricultural workers into servitude on farms in Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida

Three Mexican citizens have been indicted on federal charges for allegedly running a human trafficking ring that lured agricultural workers from Mexico into forced labor on farms across Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida.

A 35-count indictment, unsealed Friday, alleges that Martha Zeferino Jose, 42; her son, Jeremy Zeferino Jose, 23; and her partner, Jose Rodriguez Munoz, used a farm labor contracting company to exploit the H-2A visa program for financial gain, according to the Department of Justice, or DOJ.

Federal prosecutors say the group recruited workers with promises of legitimate employment through their company, Las Princesas Corporation. Instead, the defendants allegedly charged the workers illegal recruitment fees, saddling them with debt before they even arrived in the U.S.

“These individuals have been indicted for luring vulnerable workers with promises of legitimate employment, only to then confiscate their identity documents and force them to labor in inhumane conditions,” Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said.

According to court documents, once the workers arrived, the defendants seized their passports and visas to prevent them from leaving. The workers were then allegedly forced to labor for long hours without adequate breaks or access to water while being housed in “crowded, unsanitary” residences that lacked heat, air conditioning, and hot water.

The indictment further alleges the following:

  • Climate of Fear: The defendants allegedly prohibited workers from leaving their residences alone or speaking to outsiders, threatening them with deportation if they complained.
  • Visa Fraud: Martha Zeferino Jose allegedly submitted fraudulent applications to the government, falsely certifying that she would comply with labor laws she intended to ignore.
  • Obstruction of Justice: When the Department of Labor began an investigation, the defendants allegedly returned confiscated documents just before investigators arrived and ordered workers to lie to federal agents.

U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle for the Eastern District of North Carolina vowed to “find and eradicate any illegal immigration” and abuse of the system within the district.

The defendants face multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit forced labor and alien harboring for financial gain. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count of forced labor.

Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General investigated the case.

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Mar-a-Lago shotgun-wielding madman ID’d as Austin Tucker Martin, a North Carolina golf course artist

The crazed gunman who was shot dead after trying to enter Mar-a-Lago with a shotgun and a gas can has been identified as a North Carolina artist who was reported missing by his mom.

Austin Tucker Martin, 21, of Cameron, North Carolina, was killed by law enforcement in the early hours of Sunday morning, law enforcement sources told The Post.

He was reported missing by his family to authorities on Saturday.

Officials are still investigating whether he bought the gun en route to Florida.

Trump was not at Mar-a-Lago at the time; he was at the White House. On Saturday night, he and first lady Melania hosted the Governors’ Dinner, which Democratic governors appear to have boycotted.

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Fire That Killed NASCAR Star Denny Hamlin’s Father Ruled Accidental But What Caused It Remains a Mystery

An investigation by North Carolina authorities into the fire that killed NASCAR star Denny Hamlin’s father has concluded.

On December 28, the home of Dennis and Mary Lou Hamlin caught fire.

As emergency services arrived on the scene, the couple was spotted in the front yard with significant injuries.

Dennis Hamlin, 75, succumbed to his injuries, but his wife, Mary Lou, survived.

Since the fire, Gaston County Emergency Management and Fire Services have been investigating the incident for the past month and have concluded their investigation, ruling the fire “accidental.”

However, the investigation concluded without ever determining what sparked the blaze in the couple’s bedroom.

Per AP:

The North Carolina house fire that killed NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin’s father and injured his mother has been ruled accidental but it’s still unclear what started it.

A report released by Gaston County Emergency Management & Fire Services said the Dec. 28 fire at the two-story home originated in a bedroom, but the “cause of ignition” is “undetermined.”

Otherwise, the investigation determined the fire as accidental, Gaston County spokesperson Adam Gaub wrote in an email Friday.

Hamlin’s parents, Dennis and Mary Lou Hamlin were found outside the home the evening of the fire suffering from catastrophic injuries, officials said. Dennis Hamlin, 75, later died, while his wife survived.

The home, located near Stanley about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Charlotte, was owned by a company that listed Denny Hamlin as its manager, according to government records.

Following the death of his father, Hamlin took to X to write, “Thank you to everyone who has reached out with condolences on my father’s passing.”

He added, “My mother continues to improve, and our family truly appreciates the outpouring of support and the respect for our privacy during this time.”

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Meet the Convicted Murderers and Child Rapists Set Free by Making NC Democratic Senate Hopeful Roy Cooper’s ‘Early Release’ List

Former North Carolina governor Roy Cooper agreed to fast-track the release of 3,500 inmates as part of a racial equity settlement with the NAACP—and the list included 51 convicts serving life sentences for murder or rape, the Free Beacon’s Andrew Kerr reports. The “early release” list, obtained by Cox’s WSOC-TV as Cooper campaigns for the state’s open Senate seat, came as part of a 2021 settlement with the NAACP, which sued the state over crowded prisons during the pandemic. The NAACP claimed COVID-era prison conditions were unconstitutional and disproportionately endangered black inmates.

Cooper’s administration assured state lawmakers that nobody who “committed a crime against a person” would be released early. That didn’t happen. Among the convicts on the list was Tony D. Hartsell, who “strangled and beat the 84-year-old North Carolina woman who lived across the street from him before stabbing her 44 times, mutilating her body beyond recognition,” writes Kerr. Also included was Lorenza D. Norwood, who burned a man alive; Jervon K. Wilks, convicted of sexually abusing a 7-year-old child; and Louis E. Boyd, who raped his 12-year-old stepdaughter. All walked free after decades behind bars.

Cooper’s campaign now insists the governor had nothing to do with the releases, arguing the inmates were already parole-eligible when the settlement was reached. More than 90 percent of the 51 lifers on the list, however, were released after the settlement took effect, raising fresh questions about Cooper’s record on crime as governor of the Tar Heel State. Cooper has already faced criticism over the issue thanks to his “racial equity” task force that pushed to eliminate cash bail for certain crimes. That policy led to the release of career criminal Decarlos Brown not long before he senselessly murdered Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte subway train, the Free Beacon reported.

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