After the brutal murder of a young woman on a public train in Charlotte, North Carolina, President Trump’s FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on social media: “The FBI has been investigating the Charlotte train murder from day one. Stay tuned.”
Note: The man who stabbed the woman to death on the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) train has a lengthy criminal history, had served time in prison and, according to his family, was suffering from mental illness.
The Trump administration and conservative political pundits including Fox News host Sean Hannity are encouraging Americans to view the killing as evidence of their claim that violent crime is rampant in the U.S., especially in municipalities where Democrats govern — so called “blue cities” — even in red states.
On Fox News, Hannity insinuated that Democrats are to blame for the fatal attack, calling out what he characterizes as the Democrats’ “send in the social workers, you don’t need people with guns” mindset. Hannity asked U.S. Transportation Secretary (and NASA administrator) Sean Duffy to explain the mindset to his viewers.
Duffy said he didn’t understand the mindset Hannity described, and he accused Democrats of wanting “to foment chaos. When they have chaos they can disassemble society, which is what I think they’re trying to do,” Duffy said. He did not explain why be believed Democrats would want to disassemble society.
Duffy: I cannot pull money today from their transit system, I have to do an investigation, that’s what the law requires. We start that investigation tomorrow and I guarantee that if I find what I think I’m going to find, they are not going to have your federal tax dollars going… pic.twitter.com/rLwILRJ8kb
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 9, 2025
Duffy added: “I cannot pull money today from their transit system, I have to do an investigation, that’s what the law requires. We start that investigation tomorrow and I guarantee all your viewers that if I find what I think I’m going to find, they are not going to have your federal tax dollars going to their public transportation system. Zero, none, nada.”
Hannity didn’t have anything to say about Duffy’s threat, but many X users objected to Duffy’s plans to strip funding from a city’s transit system in reaction to the crime.
Social media influencer Hayden (a.k.a. The Train Guy) replied: “I beg your pardon, did I just hear that the Secretary of Transportation will defund the transit system of the 14th largest city in the country?” Another replied: “I haven’t heard that there is anything wrong with their train system.”
Another X user, considering Duffy’s threat, replied: “How does that address the problem? This administration reacts to every incident with pull the funding. They don’t address root issues or how resources are needed to address problems.”
[NOTE: North Carolina’s Republican State Auditor Dave Boliek is also launching a CATS investigation, saying “the recent lawlessness and violence that have taken place on Charlotte’s public transportation raise serious questions about the security measures in place. We will investigate CATS and examine its public safety contracts and operations.”]