The Matt Walsh Show - Episode 1677

"Have You Forgotten About Iryna Zarutska? They Want You To. Here’s Why."
Date: October 21, 2025
Host: Matt Walsh (The Daily Wire)

Overview

In this episode, Matt Walsh revisits the murder of Iryna Zarutska, exploring why the case has faded from public consciousness and why—according to Walsh—the justice system intentionally facilitates this forgetting. He draws connections to broader issues with the death penalty, bureaucratic inertia, and America’s shifting moral and political landscape. Walsh also explores the topic of growing support for monarchy among young Americans, discusses the virtue of intolerance, and critiques leftist responses to moral and cultural debates.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Case of Iryna Zarutska & Failures in the Justice System

Discussed in detail from [07:20] to [30:00]

• Background:

  • Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian woman, was stabbed to death on a Charlotte, NC light rail by Decarlos Brown, a repeat offender with more than a dozen prior arrests.
  • The incident was captured on camera and witnessed by many, leaving zero doubt about Brown’s guilt.

• Death Penalty Delays:

  • Walsh opens with a historical comparison: Joe Gonzalez was executed within 10 months in 1996 after waiving appeals ([04:30]).
  • Since a 1970s Supreme Court decision, mandatory and prolonged appeals have become standard, causing an average wait of over 260 months (up from just over 74 months in the 1980s) on death row.

• Critique of Legal Process:

  • Despite overwhelming evidence, Brown’s Rule 24 hearing to determine if the state will pursue the death penalty has been postponed to April 2026, with no public explanation.
  • “The man accused of killing a Ukrainian woman on a Charlotte light rail almost two months ago was scheduled to have a Rule 24 court hearing... The hearing has now been pushed back until April 2026.” ([20:40], quoting local reporting)
  • Walsh claims such legal inertia is purposely designed to dissipate public outrage and ultimately reduce the likelihood of severe punishment.

• Victim Forgetting as Policy:

  • “They want us to forget what happened to Iryna. That was the whole point of the Supreme Court’s decision in the 1970s and all the state laws that followed.” ([27:10])
  • Walsh lambasts state and local officials, suggesting some even prefer freeing violent criminals for ideological reasons, referencing the Charlotte mayor’s public statements.

Notable Quote

“Someone who decides to murder an innocent woman for any reason forfeits his right to live. And that’s clearly what happened here... But because our death penalty system is a bureaucratic morass, Decarlos Brown will not be executed anytime soon. He won’t even be on trial anytime soon.”
— Matt Walsh ([16:00])

2. Moral Hierarchies, Abortion, and Left-Right Violence Debates

Begins around [35:15]

• Political Ad Wars:

  • Walsh reacts to a Virginia gubernatorial ad accusing Republican Winsome Earl Sears of supporting political violence and seeking an abortion ban without exceptions ([36:15]).
  • He argues that Democrats commit and support far greater violence through abortion, a point he insists creates a fundamental moral gap between left and right.

• Comparative Outrage:

  • Using a vivid analogy, Walsh compares equating "edgy group chat jokes" on the right to abortion on the left as comparing “a stubbed toe to pancreatic cancer” ([41:40]).
  • “If you really believe 60 million babies have been slaughtered... you cannot possibly draw any equivalence.” ([43:02])

Notable Quote

“Bad things are a rather vast spectrum... There's a lot of bad things. They're not equally as bad. Stubbed toe is bad. Cancer is bad... Bringing up the stubbed toe in the face of the cancer is insane.”
— Matt Walsh ([42:13])

3. Trend Toward Monarchism Among Young Americans

Segment begins at [47:40]

• Media Panic & Polls:

  • Reports cite a YouGov poll claiming 27% of 18–29-year-old Americans are open to monarchy.
  • Walsh expresses skepticism but accepts the premise to examine causes and correctives.

• Roots of the Sentiment:

  • Walsh acknowledges democratic dysfunction (“a government increasingly run by foreign agents, scam artists and semi literate retards” [52:55]), but dismisses monarchy as a solution:
    • “Our country was founded by people who rebelled against monarchy. So a monarchy in America would be the end of America.”
  • Suggests the problem is not democracy itself, but the abandonment of voter qualifications:
    • “We give the vote to welfare queens who don't contribute to society in any way whatsoever... to the dumbest and most useless people... to anybody with a pulse, and we even give the vote to people who don’t have a pulse.” ([56:02])

• Walsh’s Solutions:

  • Disenfranchise welfare recipients.
  • Require a simple civics exam to vote.
  • Disenfranchise dual citizens and possibly set higher standards for naturalized citizens.
  • “You just got to disenfranchise a few groups... It’s basically requiring the bare possible minimum of voters.” ([59:28])

Notable Quote

“You are definitely better off living under a wise and just monarch than in a democracy governed by a mob of the dumbest, most clueless idiots the world has ever seen. Between those two choices, you’re better with the former. That doesn’t have to be the choice.”
— Matt Walsh ([58:09])

4. The Virtue of Intolerance

Daily Cancellation Segment begins at [66:30]

• Tolerance as a Trojan Horse:

  • Walsh plays a recent clip where he argues tolerance leads to demands for affirmation, celebration, and finally participation in leftist causes (including “castrating kids,” “men in the women's locker room,” and “flooding our country with third worlders” [67:15]).
  • “Intolerance is a virtue. Intolerance is good. Intolerance is holy. Intolerance is Christian. Intolerance is moral and courageous. Intolerance is biblical. Intolerance is loving.” ([68:00])

• Reactions & Rebuttals:

  • Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks responds: “This is why I’m on the left. When someone on the right says this... you’re saying we don’t want you. Okay, I heard that loud and clear.” ([70:20], paraphrasing Cenk)
  • Walsh rebuts, insisting all societies must be intolerant of something, and intolerance, when directed at true evil, is virtuous.

• Examples of (In)Tolerance:

  • “We should not tolerate men who dress up as women in the service of a delusion, especially when they are trying to impose it on children... We should react to Jimmy Kimmel’s drag queen sketch the same way that even a Bill Clinton voter would have reacted in 1992: with the maximum possible degree of intolerance.” ([77:45])

Notable Quote

“Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions and we should stop pretending otherwise.”
— Matt Walsh ([69:52])

"If a virtue requires you to do nothing, it is not a virtue... Intolerance is noble and brave, provided, of course, that it’s directed at something actually bad."
— Matt Walsh ([74:32])

Notable Quotes and Moments (with Timestamps)

• [16:00] “Someone who decides to murder an innocent woman for any reason forfeits his right to live... But because our death penalty system is a bureaucratic morass, Decarlos Brown will not be executed anytime soon.”
• [20:40] News report: “The man accused of killing a Ukrainian woman on a Charlotte light rail... was scheduled to have a Rule 24 court hearing... pushed back until April 2026.”
• [27:10] “They want us to forget what happened to Iryna. That was the whole point of the Supreme Court’s decision in the 1970s and all the state laws that followed.”
• [36:15] Matt criticizes Abigail Spanberger’s gubernatorial ad against Winsome Earl Sears.
• [42:13] “Bad things are a rather vast spectrum... Bringing up the stubbed toe in the face of the cancer is insane.”
• [52:55] “This is what our democracy is getting us now: a government increasingly run by foreign agents, scam artists and semi literate retards.”
• [58:09] “You are definitely better off living under a wise and just monarch than in a democracy governed by a mob of the dumbest, most clueless idiots the world has ever seen. Between those two choices, you’re better with the former.”
• [68:00] “Intolerance is a virtue. Intolerance is good. Intolerance is holy. Intolerance is Christian. Intolerance is moral and courageous. Intolerance is biblical. Intolerance is loving.”
• [74:32] “If a virtue requires you to do nothing, it is not a virtue... Intolerance is noble and brave, provided, of course, that it’s directed at something actually bad.”
• [77:45] “We should react to Jimmy Kimmel’s drag queen sketch the same way that even a Bill Clinton voter would have reacted in 1992: with the maximum possible degree of intolerance.”

Tone and Style

Walsh is unflinching, combative, and intentionally provocative, using hyperbolic analogies, sarcastic language, and direct moral judgments. He positions himself as a defender of harsh justice and traditional values, skeptical of modern legal and political institutions, and willing to polarize his audience in defense of his principles.

Summary for Non-Listeners

This episode is a forceful critique of judicial and social leniency, especially regarding high-profile violent crime. Matt Walsh argues that the system is designed both to prevent swift justice (particularly the death penalty) and to encourage the public to forget about victims like Iryna Zarutska. He extends this critique to America’s moral confusion on issues like abortion, political violence, and democratic dysfunction—postulating that increasing support for monarchy among the young reflects legitimate dissatisfaction, but not a worthy solution.

Walsh’s remedy is both legal reform (restoring swift justice and voter qualifications) and moral renewal (“intolerance as virtue”)—arguing, loudly and at length, that American society must draw harder lines and reclaim the ability to exclude, denounce, and punish evildoers rapidly and decisively.

End of Summary