Southeast

Meet the American who taught the Tuskegee Airmen to fly, pioneer pilot Charles 'Chief' Anderson

Published

2 years ago

February 11, 2024

Meet the American who taught the Tuskegee Airmen to fly, pioneer pilot Charles 'Chief' Anderson

The Tuskegee Airmen soar across American military lore some 80 years after victory in World War II.

The heroic U.S. Army Air Forces pilots battled for equality at home before they battled the Nazis in the skies over Europe.

The unit of African American pilots in the segregated Army earned their wings under the tutelage of pioneering pilot Charles A. Anderson.

Dubbed “Chief” by his students, he was the lead flight instructor at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.

MEET THE AMERICAN WHO GAVE BIRTH TO THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, ALBERTA KING, ‘GAVE HER ALL FOR CHRIST’

He put the wind beneath the wings of the famed Tuskegee Airmen, only after fighting for the right to fly on his own a decade earlier.

“His reputation was that he expected a lot out of us,” World War II veteran and retired Lt. Col. George Hardy, 98, told Fox News Digital for this article.

Charles “Chief” Anderson put the wind beneath the wings of the Tuskegee Airmen. He taught himself to fly in the 1920s — and became chief flight instructor at the Tuskegee Institute in World War II. (Air Force Historical Research Agency)

“He learned to fly through personal determination. That’s what we admired about him. He did a great job of running things.”

Hardy is one of three known surviving Tuskegee Airmen who flew fighter planes in World War II. He’s still a legend today; he’s gone skydiving in his 90s and taken friends parasailing on the Gulf of Mexico near his home in Sarasota, Florida.

“Anderson learned to fly through personal determination. That’s what we admired about him.” — Tuskegee Airman George Hardy

He stands among the many legendary figures to emerge from the famous unit, trained to fly and fight under a system devised and led by self-taught pilot Chief Anderson.

Hardy flew legendary “Red Tail” P-51 Mustang fighter planes in World War II — the aircraft earning the name from the crimson rudder that denoted the 332nd Fighter Group. Americans know the 332nd and the Red Tails today as the most famous of the Tuskegee Airmen.

Charles “Chief” Anderson was the first licensed Black commercial pilot in America in 1932. He was later hired to be the lead flight instructor at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama in World War II. (Air Force Historical Research Agency)

Hardy later piloted giant B-29 bombers during the Korean War and C-119 gunships in Vietnam.

He retired in 1972 after a 30-year military career.

“I had never even driven an automobile before I got to Tuskegee,” Hardy said.

CELEBRATED TUSKEGEE AIRMAN CHARLES MCGEE DIES AT 102

His inexperience is a testament to the challenges that Anderson faced. He took hundreds of young men and instilled in them the spirit to fly — at a time when many people thought they couldn’t do so because of the color of their skin.

“The airplane was invented in 1903, and the military acquired its first airplanes and pilots in 1909, but Black men were not allowed to be pilots in the American military until the 1940s,” writes historian Daniel Haulman in his 2023 book, “Misconceptions About The Tuskegee Airmen.”

Anderson was not a military man. The nickname “Chief” was an accolade accorded the civilian by his Army students.

Some 14,000 Tuskegee Airmen served in World War II, including hundreds of its now-legendary fighter pilots. (Tuskegee University Archives)

“Chief Anderson was liked and highly respected by his men,” Tuskegee University archivist Dana Chandler told Fox News Digital.

“He instilled in them a belief that they could succeed no matter the obstacles.”

Born to fly

Charles Alfred Anderson Sr. was born on Feb. 9, 1907, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, to Iverson and Janie Anderson.

Like many American boys of his era, he was thrilled by the emergence of flight and by the new image of daredevil pilots spiraling through the skies across America in the first decades of the 20th century.

Denied opportunities to take flying lessons because he was African American, he blazed his own path into the wild blue yonder.

First lady Eleanor Roosevelt supported the Civilian Pilot Training Program and the War Training Service. She’s pictured here in a Piper J-3 Cub trainer with Charles Alfred “Chief” Anderson, a pioneer Black aviator and instructor at Tuskegee Institute. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Anderson saved money — and borrowed more from friends and family — to buy an airplane at age 22.

He soon traded the use of his plane for lessons from a local pilot named Russell Thaw. He found another ally in his quest to fly — an unlikely ally.

Ernst Buehl flew airplanes for the German army in World War I before immigrating to the United States in 1920. He took Anderson under his wing, unaware the young man would soon inspire American pilots in the Second World War.

MEET THE AMERICAN WHO FIRST RECORDED THE BLUES, NATION’S ORIGINAL POP DIVA MAMIE SMITH

Anderson earned a commercial pilot license in 1932. He’s believed to be the first African American commercial pilot in the United States.

Freed by flight, he was soon soaring across the nation.

Along with physician and benefactor Dr. Albert Forsythe, Anderson became the first Black pilot to crisscross the United States by air in 1933.

George Hardy flew with the 99th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, the Tuskegee Airmen, in 1945. He later flew bombers in Korea and fixed-wing gunships in Vietnam. Charles Anderson “did a great job of running things,” Hardy, who is now 98 years old, told Fox News Digital. (Courtesy CAF Rise Above via U.S. Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell AFB, Alabama)

“The Anderson-Forsythe long-distance flights attracted worldwide attention and greatly popularized aviation in the African American community,” the African American Registry reports on its website.

“Much of their navigation on the journey was done by reading a simple roadmap. The daring pair also made a long-distance flight to Canada. They later staged an elaborate Pan American Goodwill Tour of the Caribbean in their plane, ‘The Spirit of Booker T. Washington.’”

The Tuskegee Institute hired Anderson to head its Civilian Pilot Training program in 1940.

Soon the Army was calling on Tuskegee and Anderson to head its training program for Black military pilots.

“I had the fun of going up in one of the tiny training planes with the head instructor.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

Anderson in March 1941 unexpectedly found one of the most famous people in the world as a passenger.

“We went out to the aviation field, where a Civil Aeronautics unit for the teaching of colored pilots is in full swing,” first lady Eleanor Roosevelt wrote on April 1, 1941, in her nationally syndicated “My Day” column.

“They have advanced training here, and some of the students went up and did acrobatic flying for us. These boys are good pilots. I had the fun of going up in one of the tiny training planes with the head instructor, and seeing this interesting countryside from the air.”

The brief encounter of flying Mrs. Roosevelt over Alabama made Anderson one of the most famous pilots in America. It also helped forge a national reputation for the Tuskegee Airmen — a reputation that would soon be steeled under fire in the skies over Europe.

The Red Tails’ ‘box score’

Anderson’s Tuskegee Airmen arrived in Europe in the spring of 1943. The famed 332nd Fighter Group was based in Ramatelli, Italy.

The Tuskegee Airmen quickly proved that Black pilots were more than fit for combat.

The U.S. Army Air Forces 332nd Fighter Group, more commonly known as the Tuskegee Airmen, flew P-51 Mustang fighter planes with distinct red tails to signify their unit. (Tuskegee University Archives)

Their main mission was to escort Allied bombers in raids over German targets across Europe — dangerous missions flown in the face of anti-aircraft fire from the ground and attacks from enemy fighter planes in the air.

“The Tuskegee Airmen flew more than 15,000 sorties between May 1943 and June 1945,” reports the National World War II Museum.

“Bomber crews often requested to be escorted by these ‘Red Tails.’”

“The Red Tails destroyed or damaged 409 German aircraft; 739 locomotives and train cars; 40 barges and boats; even one enemy destroyer.” — U.S. Air Force

Once-classified documents provided to Fox News Digital by the Air Force Historical Research Agency show the “box scores for the Red Tails” — a trail of destruction of Nazi forces left by the Tuskegee Airmen.

The Red Tails destroyed or damaged 409 German aircraft in the air (136) or on the ground (273); 739 locomotives and other train cars damaged or destroyed; 40 barges and boats; even one enemy warship, a destroyer.

Tuskegee Airmen exiting the parachute room, Ramitelli, Italy, in March 1945. Left to right, Richard S. “Rip” Harder, Brooklyn, New York; unidentified airman; Thurston L. Gaines, Jr., Freeport, New York; Newman C. Golden, Cincinnati, Ohio; Wendell M. Lucas, Fairmont Heights, Maryland. Photo by Toni Frissell Collection (Library of Congress). (Tuskegee University Archives)

The Tuskegee Airmen faced perhaps their most daunting challenge on March 24, 1945, escorting American bombers all the way from Italy to Berlin. It was a dangerous mission of nearly 1,000 miles each way.

The American air armada was attacked that day by German ME-262 aircraft — the world’s first jet fighters. They were faster and more maneuverable than anything in the Army Air Forces.

THEY RISKED THEIR LIVES FOR OTHERS: AUTHOR RICHARD HUROWITZ REMEMBERS UNSUNG HEROES OF THE HOLOCAUST

“We couldn’t keep up with them,” Hardy, the 98-year-old Tuskegee Airman, told Fox News Digital.

Still, his unit of prop planes shot down three German jet fighters that day.

A German Messerschmitt 262A-1 jet-propelled fighter at the Rheinmain Airport, near Frankfurt, Germany, 1945. The Tuskegee Airmen shot down three ME-262s in their raid over Berlin in March 1945, despite its superior speed and dexterity. The first jet-propelled plane captured intact, it was flown over Allied lines and surrendered by its pilot who was supposed to be testing it at the time. (PhotoQuest/Getty Images)

One of the men on the Berlin mission, Colonel Benjamin O. Davis Jr., went on to become the first brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force (formed from the Army Air Forces in 1947).

His father, Benjamin O. Davis Sr., had already broken down barriers as the first brigadier general in the U.S. Army.

Just 66 Tuskegee Airmen were lost in combat in World War II.

Despite the carnage inflicted on enemy forces, just 66 Tuskegee Airmen were lost in combat in World War II.

“They had one of the lowest loss records of any escort fighter group,” says the National World War II Museum.

Tuskegee’s daring fighter pilots draw all the popular acclaim today, but were only one part of the story.

A once-classified “box score” shows the deadly effect on German forces inflicted by the Tuskegee Airmen “Red Tails.” (Air Force Historical Research Agency)

Only 992 Tuskegee Airmen flew fighter planes in World War II, yet 14,000 served — among them bomber crews, reconnaissance plane pilots, grounds crew and various other support staff, notes Tuskegee Airmen historian Haulman.

He also said the early military reports were not completely accurate. The Red Tails actually shot down 112 German aircraft, he said, and the information about the German Navy ship being destroyed is not accurate.

Added Haulman, “Americans should remember Chief Anderson as somebody who personally demonstrated the potential of Black pilots and who was also instrumental in training the Tuskegee Airmen to fly.”

Legacy of American unity

Charles Alfred “Chief” Anderson died on April 13, 1996, in Tuskegee. He was 89 years old. He’s buried in Greenwood Cemetery.

“Remaining in Tuskegee after the war, Anderson continued to provide flight instruction at Moton Field, which remains an active airport and is the location of the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site,” reports the Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Tuskegee Airmen instructor Charles Alfred “Chief” Anderson was honored with a stamp by the U.S. Postal Service in 2014. (United States Postal Service)

“In 1967, Anderson co-founded Negro Aviation International, an association for Black pilots.”

He joined the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame in 1991. Moton Field, where hundreds of war pilots learned to fly under his tutelage, is now Tuskegee Moton Field Municipal Airport.

“This historical landmark is a rich backdrop to a modern, state-of-the-art facility providing top-notch training and education, while serving as an economic engine for the region,” says the City of Tuskegee online.

Tales of the Tuskegee Airmen will be told to future generations.

Anderson lived long enough to see the story of the men he introduced to flying immortalized in the 1995 movie “The Tuskegee Airmen,” starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Lawrence Fishburne.

The dramatic silver screen tale brought the exploits of the Red Tail warriors to a new generation of grateful Americans. They’ve since been honored in many other depictions in books and on screen.

The United States Postal Service issued a stamp in Anderson’s honor at the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in Alabama in 2014.

Tuskegee Airman and retired Lt. Col. George Hardy is shown with children at Robert L. Taylor Community Complex in Sarasota, Florida, in 2013. (Courtesy CAF Rise Above via U.S. Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell AFB, Alabama)

Tales of the Tuskegee Airmen will be told to future generations.

Lt. Col. Hardy recently returned from Hollywood, where he was recorded in digital detail for a pending exhibit at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans.

“We worked together and we depended on each other,” said Hardy. “I listened to my instructors, I learned a lot and did the best I could. I think I was successful. The group was successful.”

“The U.S. military was fully integrated 1948, just three years after his Tuskegee Airmen flew their final combat mission.”

Anderson’s greatest contribution to the nation was helping prove old stereotypes wrong.

The U.S. military was fully integrated 1948, just three years after his Tuskegee Airmen flew their final combat mission.

The military today may provide the most accurate depiction of the American people — more diverse than the halls of Congress, more integrated than the ivory towers of academia.

Minnesota, South St Paul. Fleming Field Minnesota Wing CAF Air Show, North American P-51C Tuskegee Airmen Red Tail and T-34C Turbo Mentor. (Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

“What made the Tuskegee Airmen ultimately succeed was the ability to overcome the obstacles they faced with hard work and dedication,” LaVone Kay, spokesperson for Commemorative Air Force Rise Above, told Fox News Digital.

Her organization is devoted to providing American children with life lessons through the example of Anderson’s Red Tail fighters of World War II.

“Life can be unfair,” she added. “But if children believe in themselves, stay focused and work hard, they will overcome obstacles and achieve excellence, just like the Tuskegee Airmen.”

To read more stories in this unique “Meet the American Who…” series from Fox News Digital, click here.

For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle.

Kerry J. Byrne is a lifestyle reporter with Fox News Digital.

Read the full article from Here

Southeast

Ex-mayor caught in lewd act at booze-filled pool party, prosecutors say

Published

15 hours ago

March 8, 2026

Press Room

Ex-mayor caught in lewd act at booze-filled pool party, prosecutors say

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

A former Louisiana mayor is on trial after prosecutors allege her teenage son caught her having sex with one of his 16-year-old friends at a booze-filled pool party.

Misty Roberts, 43, the former mayor of DeRidder, is facing charges of carnal knowledge of a juvenile and indecent behavior with a juvenile, according to KPLC. She has pleaded not guilty.

Roberts’ second trial is underway after the first case resulted in a mistrial due to judicial issues in nearby Beauregard Parish, the outlet reported.

The charges stem from a 2024 late-night gathering at Roberts’ home.

Misty Roberts, 43, the former mayor of DeRidder, is facing charges of carnal knowledge of a juvenile and indecent behavior with a juvenile, according to KPLC. (Louisiana Highway Patrol)

Last week, Roberts’ children and her ex-husband took the stand in her trial, along with a DoorDash driver, family friend and multiple teenagers who were present at the party, according to KPLC.

Jurors were shown a video interview of Roberts’ son, taken last year, in which the teenager reportedly told authorities he witnessed his mother having sex with his friend through a crack in a window during the party.

However, upon taking the stand last week, the teenager reportedly told jurors he was not certain of what he actually saw that evening.

Roberts’ defense attorneys have disputed the recording, telling jurors that part of the interview could have been improperly transcribed.

ICE ARRESTS ALLEGED CHILD SEX OFFENDER RELEASED UNDER CONNECTICUT SANCTUARY LAWS

Prosecutors allege Misty Roberts had sex with her son’s 16-year-old friend at a booze-filled house party in 2024. (Misty Roberts/Facebook)

Text messages between the mother and son were also shown to the jury, with the pair discussing what type of alcohol the teenagers wanted for the party.

In another exchange, Roberts’ son warned her of the victim’s age, texting her, “He is seventeen,” according to the outlet. The victim was 16 years old at the time of the alleged incident.

Additional text messages from the night of the party show Roberts’ son calling the situation “crazy” and telling her that his younger sister was emotional.

Upon taking the stand, Roberts’ daughter told the court that she witnessed her mother and the victim “on top of each other” the night of the party,” KPLC reported.

KENTUCKY CHILD KILLER WALKS FREE ON ‘GOOD BEHAVIOR’, GETS ARRESTED AGAIN WITHIN DAYS

Following the alleged encounter, prosecutors reportedly said the victim’s mother texted Roberts to confirm she was not pregnant.

Roberts replied that she was on birth control, and later screenshotted the messages and sent them in a separate group chat while suggesting she would take an emergency contraceptive known as “Plan B.”

Jurors also heard from a DoorDash driver who testified that he fulfilled an order from “Misty C” to purchase the emergency contraceptive and leave it at the front door of the home, the outlet reported.

The driver added that he later heard rumors about the alleged incident and believed his delivery was connected.

REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER’S CITY COUNCIL BID SPARKS FURY AS OFFICIALS EXPLORE BLOCKING HIS PATH

Roberts’ nephew also testified that he attempted to see what was happening in the room during the party by using his phone’s camera, but was unsure if he recorded any footage and did not send anything to anyone following the alleged encounter, according to the outlet.

The nephew also admitted to deleting his Snapchat memories before investigators took custody of his phone because he did not want to get in trouble over photos of underage drinking, adding he did not intend to delete evidence.

Another member of the victim’s friend group also told jurors that he witnessed Roberts flirting with the victim on the night of the party, while revealing the boy appeared to be drunk and vomited later that night, KPLC reported.

On Saturday, Roberts’ ex-husband, Duncan Clanton, reportedly testified that Roberts confessed to having sex with the teenage boy and that the couple’s children had caught them in the act.

CHILD PREDATOR DUBBED ‘MONSTER PARENTS FEAR MOST’ CLEARED FOR RELEASE THROUGH CALIFORNIA PAROLE PROGRAM

Misty Roberts is currently on trial in Beauregard Parish for allegedly having sex with her son’s 16-year-old friend at a house party in 2024. (Google Maps)

Jurors were also shown text messages between the married couple, in which Clanton told Roberts, “I would deny what happened if you’re approached by anyone at the meeting,” on the day of a city council meeting.

In another exchange, Clanton reportedly testified Roberts texted him, “I need you to deny it, please.”

Clanton added that while he refused to deny the allegations, he avoided talking about the incident.

“I can’t keep hurting others, friends and family. Lord knows I’ve done enough,” Roberts reportedly texted Clanton, according to KPLC.

On cross-examination, when Roberts’ defense attorney asked Clanton if he felt as though Roberts was a good mom, the father reportedly answered, “No.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Roberts resigned from her position as mayor just days before her arrest in 2024. She was initially prohibited from making contact with her children without permission from Clanton and the court revoked child support.

Roberts’ defense attorney did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Julia Bonavita is a U.S. Writer for Fox News Digital and a Fox Flight Team drone pilot. You can follow her at @juliabonavita13 on all platforms and send story tips to julia.bonavita@fox.com.

Read the full article from Here

Southeast

Florida man who wrestled cop’s gun away and killed him, executed after final appeals rejected

Published

1 day ago

March 8, 2026

Press Room

Florida man who wrestled cop’s gun away and killed him, executed after final appeals rejected

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

A Florida man who prosecutors say wrestled a police officer’s service weapon away during a 1991 traffic stop and fatally shot him was executed Tuesday evening after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeals.

Billy Leon Kearse, 53, is set to receive a three-drug lethal injection beginning at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke.

Kearse was sentenced to death in 1991 after being convicted of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm. The Florida Supreme Court later ruled that jurors were not properly instructed on aggravating circumstances and ordered a new sentencing hearing. He was resentenced to death in 1997.

Kearse’s execution would mark the state’s third in 2026, following a record 19 executions in 2025.

Clouds hover over the entrance of the Florida State Prison in Starke, Fla., Aug. 3, 2023. (AP)

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed more death warrants last year than any Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Before that, the highest number in a single year was eight in 1984 and 2014 under governors Bob Graham and Rick Scott, respectively.

Court records show Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish stopped Kearse in January 1991 for driving the wrong way on a one-way street. After Kearse failed to produce a valid driver’s license and resisted being handcuffed, a struggle broke out.

During the confrontation, Kearse grabbed Parrish’s firearm and fired 14 shots, striking the officer nine times and hitting his body armor four times, prosecutors said. A nearby taxi driver heard the gunfire and used Parrish’s radio to call for help.

FLORIDA EXECUTES MAN CONVICTED OF KILLING AIRMAN AND GIRLFRIEND IN 1987 HOME INVASION

This photo shows a gurney used in giving lethal injections to convicted death row inmates. (Sue Ogrocki, File)

Parrish was taken to a hospital, where he died from his wounds.

Investigators used license plate information Parrish had radioed in before the struggle to identify Kearse’s vehicle and home address. He was arrested shortly afterward.

Last week, the Florida Supreme Court denied Kearse’s appeals, in which his attorneys argued he was deprived of a fair penalty phase and that his intellectual disability made him ineligible for execution. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeal Tuesday without comment.

FLORIDA EXECUTES RICHARD BARRY RANDOLPH CONVICTED OF RAPING, KILLING FORMER CONVENIENCE STORE MANAGER

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. (Octavio Jones/Getty Images)

A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. last year. Florida carried out the most, outpacing Texas, South Carolina and Alabama, which each conducted five executions.

Two more executions are scheduled in Florida this month. Michael Lee King, 54, is set to be executed March 17. James Aren Duckett, 68, is scheduled for March 31.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Duckett, a former police officer, was convicted in 1987 of raping and murdering 11-year-old Teresa McAbee. At the time, he was working for the Mascotte Police Department when McAbee was last seen getting into his patrol car outside a convenience store. Her body was later found less than a mile away in a lake. Authorities said she had been sexually battered, strangled and drowned.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.

Story tips and ideas can be sent to Greg.Wehner@Fox.com and on Twitter @GregWehner.

Read the full article from Here

Southeast

Violent repeat offender accused in Charlotte knife attack was free despite decade-long rap sheet

Published

2 days ago

March 7, 2026

Press Room

Violent repeat offender accused in Charlotte knife attack was free despite decade-long rap sheet

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

A North Carolina man accused of stabbing another individual in broad daylight has faced more than 18 criminal charges over the past decade, including assault-related cases and a domestic-violence conviction, before the latest violent incident, court records show.

Micah Emmanuel Ragin, 31, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury after a Feb. 28 altercation in east Charlotte.

According to police, officers responded to a 911 call reporting an assault involving a knife. When they arrived, they found a man with a stab wound to a knee. Investigators say the suspect discarded a bag and the knife into a nearby creek and then boarded a city bus as it left the area.

Authorities later located the bus and identified Ragin as the suspect after reviewing transit security footage. Officers recovered a kitchen knife from the creek in the area shown on video. During an interview, police said Ragin admitted to being involved in a physical altercation but did not acknowledge the stabbing.

Micah Emmanuel Ragin, 31, was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury in Charlotte, N.C. (Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office)

A review of North Carolina court records shows Ragin’s interactions with law enforcement date back to at least 2015 and span multiple counties.

In 2016, he pleaded guilty to violating a domestic violence protective order, receiving a 24-day jail sentence and a court-ordered no-contact condition.

COLLEGE SOCCER STAR, GIRLFRIEND DEAD AS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT’S RECORD IGNITES LAWMAKER FURY STATEWIDE

In prior years, he was charged in separate cases with assault on a female, assault on a campus police officer, communicating threats and resisting a public officer. Several of those cases were ultimately dismissed, including multiple charges in 2019 that court records state were “unable to prosecute due to COVID-19 court closures.”

Records also show misdemeanor drug and trespass convictions.

Altogether, court records indicate Ragin has faced more than 18 charges in several counties over multiple years before the current felony accusation.

CHARLOTTE TRAIN STABBING 911 CALLS CAPTURE PLEAS FOR HELP AFTER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ALLEGEDLY ATTACKED PASSENGER

The alleged stabbing comes months after the fatal killing of a young woman aboard a Charlotte light rail train, a case that drew national attention and intensified debate over repeat offenders and pandemic-era criminal justice policies.

Iryna Zarutska cowers as her attacker towers over her. (NewsNation via Charlotte Area Transit System)

That earlier case involved a defendant who was under state supervision at the time of the attack and prompted scrutiny of a 2021 COVID-era prison settlement negotiated during former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration. The agreement authorized the early release or transition of approximately 3,500 incarcerated individuals. Republican officials claimed the agreement released dangerous offenders, while state officials have said the settlement primarily targeted medically vulnerable and nonviolent inmates.

State corrections officials have also said the light rail defendant was not released early as a result of that settlement and had completed his mandatory minimum sentence, though his name appeared on a settlement-related list due to retroactive eligibility criteria.

Republican officials have argued the cases reflect broader concerns about repeat offenders cycling through the system, while Democrats have defended pandemic-era decisions as necessary public health measures.

REPEAT OFFENDER ALLEGEDLY ASSAULTS HOSPITAL POLICE OFFICER JUST DAYS AFTER ARREST AT SAME FACILITY: REPORT

Republican Michael Whatley, left, and Democrat Roy Cooper (Getty Images)

“Micah Ragin was arrested and let back onto the streets 18 times too many — including under then-Governor Roy Cooper’s COVID mass inmate release,” Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“Have Charlotte’s pro-crime Democrats learned nothing from Iryna’s tragic murder? How many victims will it take to finally keep criminals behind bars? The Queen City has been stained by crimes that are preventable — they are lucky this wasn’t the next Iryna Zarutska.”

Nick Puglia, regional press secretary for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, echoed similar criticism.

“Yet again, Roy Cooper’s soft-on-crime policies allowed a violent career criminal to roam free, resulting in a vicious attack. Cooper coddles criminals and North Carolinians pay the price,” Puglia said.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley criticized what he described as “soft-on-crime” policies.

“Criminals belong behind bars. As a senator, I will always back the blue and fight to keep our communities safe,” Whatley said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Cooper, who previously served two terms as North Carolina’s governor and is now running for the U.S. Senate, has defended his record on public safety and pushed back on Republican criticism.

“Violence of any kind is unacceptable, and we must keep North Carolinians safe,” a spokesperson for Cooper’s campaign said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “These Republican attacks are false – Roy Cooper is the only candidate who spent his career prosecuting violent criminals and keeping thousands of them behind bars as attorney general, and signing tough-on-crime laws and stricter pretrial release bail policy as governor.”

Cooper’s campaign has previously defended pandemic-era decisions as necessary public health measures and has denied that COVID-related policies led to the early release of dangerous offenders.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Ragin’s felony case is pending, and officials have not announced a trial date.

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.

Stepheny Price is a Writer at Fox News with a focus on West Coast and Midwest news, missing persons, national and international crime stories, homicide cases, and border security.

Read the full article from Here