Rep. Mark Harris, NC Lawmakers Demand Gov. Stein Deploy National Guard to Charlotte

WASHINGTON, DC - On Wednesday, Representatives Mark Harris (NC-08), Pat Harrigan (NC-10), and Chuck Edwards (NC-11) demanded that Governor Josh Stein send in the National Guard to Charlotte.

"Governor Stein is deaf to the desperate pleas of Charlotte's police and residents," said Rep. Mark Harris. "He refuses reinforcements to crush the violent crime surge-exposing him and his party as pro-crime Democrats who coddle criminals while ignoring victims. That's why my colleagues and I are fighting for millions of North Carolinians, demanding we reclaim the Queen City. Governor Stein: Stop stalling-send in the Guard now."

The lawmakers' joint letter follows a formal request from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police, which warned that officers are "stretched dangerously thin" and unable to maintain public safety.

The lawmakers wrote in a joint letter, "Until our judicial system ensures criminals are held accountable, there is a compelling case to deter violence through a visible, stabilizing presence such as the National Guard…The men and women who wear the badge in Charlotte have sounded an unmistakable cry for help."

The representatives spotlighted egregious cases of repeat offenders, including:

• Decarlos Brown Jr., arrested 14 times and now charged with the stabbing murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on Charlotte's light rail;
• Herbert Jordan, arrested 50 times in the Charlotte area for offenses including assaults on officers and women;
• A Charlotte teenager arrested 111 times in just two years-yet still walking free.

"While calling upon the National Guard is not a long-term solution to Charlotte's law enforcement staffing challenges, it is an emergency measure designed to stabilize a crisis situation and protect innocent lives," the lawmakers wrote.

Daniel Redford, President of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police, said in support of the congressmen, "The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police continues to stand by our request for federal assistance…What is most concerning is that city leaders, many of whom have served multiple terms, have failed to foresee these police shortages and build the ranks of CMPD at a time when attrition was manageable. The officers of CMPD are now tasked with the burden of their failures and they grow more and more exhausted as each day passes."

Read the letter in its entirety here.

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