Charlotte GOP chair says mayor creates perception that 'does not match the reality' amid violent crime wave

Violent transgression successful Charlotte, North Carolina, has ignited a governmental storm, with Republican lawmakers pointing to the city’s rising homicide complaint arsenic grounds that Mayor Vi Lyles’ enactment has faltered.

"When you are successful complaint of a city, it’s your occupation to enactment the champion imaginable ft guardant and make arsenic champion of a cognition arsenic you can. Now, that cognition whitethorn oregon whitethorn not lucifer reality. In the lawsuit of Charlotte, the cognition does not lucifer the reality," Addul Ali, North Carolina District 12 GOP chairperson, told Fox News Digital.

Recent national migration raids successful the Charlotte country and lawmakers calling for National Guard deployments person analyzable City Hall’s messaging connected nationalist information success.

Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles speaks astatine a quality league a time aft the schoolhouse shooting astatine UNC Charlotte Wednesday, May 1, 2019.  (KEN RUINARD/USA TODAY NETWORK)

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The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s third-quarter study shows wide transgression down 8% from January done September compared with a twelvemonth earlier. Lyles has pointed to those numbers to reason that investments successful recruiting, wage and targeted enforcement are working.

However, the messaging comes arsenic Charlotte faces intensifying scrutiny implicit convulsive crime, with Republican lawmakers pointing to the crisp emergence successful homicides and aggravated assaults successful the Queen City’s bustling downtown.

"It is astir weekly, regular astatine this point, that we're proceeding astir homicides successful Charlotte. We've averaged astir 100 oregon truthful homicides annually connected this mayor's watch," Ali said, sharing his caller attendance of aggregate vigils for young children killed.

"I deliberation the cognition they're trying to make is 1 thing, but the world is thing different. And obviously, there's been an epidemic of underreporting of definite crimes to effort to gin those statistics. And I deliberation that's thing we're dealing with perchance present successful Charlotte arsenic well."

This representation taken from video provided by Rheba Hamilton shows U.S. Border Patrol agents leaving a gait aft approaching 2 men hanging lights successful Charlotte, N.C. connected Saturday, Nov 15, 2025.   (Rheba Hamilton via AP)

The emergence successful convulsive transgression has prompted Republican lawmakers to impulse Democratic Gov. Josh Stein to deploy the National Guard. For now, the politician has resisted that telephone from Republican lawmakers, and section officials person argued that nationalist information remains a section responsibility.

"Recently, the metropolis faced 8 homicides successful 7 days. The execution complaint successful uptown Charlotte is now 200% higher than it was a twelvemonth ago," a letter from a trio of Republican lawmakers said. "According to the Fraternal Order of Police, aggravated assaults involving knives oregon guns person risen from 86 successful 2024 to 111 successful 2025, and idiosyncratic strong-arm robberies person accrued from 26 to 31 successful the aforesaid period."

A memorial dedicated to Iryna Zarutska successful Charlotte, N.C., connected Sept. 11, 2025.   (Peter Zay/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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Lyles was astir precocious re-elected successful November, winning a 5th word successful office. Her re-election came aft her enactment was scrutinized for her effect to Iryna Zarutska’s convulsive stabbing successful August.

Ali acknowledged that, from a purely governmental standpoint, Lyles has shown accomplishment successful maintaining her seat. But Ali argued that her occurrence reflects broader governmental dynamics alternatively than elector enthusiasm for her leadership.

"This is the intersection of nationalist and section politics," helium said, noting that one-party dominance astatine the national level often triggers a plaything successful the other absorption locally. He suggested that Lyles "benefited from a batch of anti-Trump sentiment successful the section election."

Ali besides pointed to debased elector turnout, astir 20 to 21% successful caller municipal elections, arsenic grounds that her re-election whitethorn not bespeak beardown section support.

"I don’t deliberation that that is needfully indicative of her doing a bully job," helium said. "If we saw a 30 oregon 40% summation successful radical specifically voting for her, that would beryllium thing we could constituent to."

He further noted that "there are metropolis assembly radical who got much votes than she did," calling that "telling" astir however residents presumption her performance.

A photograph of lit buildings forming the skyline of Charlotte, North Carolina. (Andrea Evangelo-Giamou / EyeEm via Getty Images)

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Ultimately, Ali said helium wasn’t amazed by Lyles’ victory.

"I’m not amazed erstwhile a Democrat wins successful a Democrat city. I americium not shocked to spot that," helium said, adding that immoderate voters are firmly loyal to their party. "There is simply a radical of folks who volition ballot bluish nary substance who. There’s thing you tin accidental – nary magnitude of death, nary magnitude of economical uncertainty – thing you could say, due to the fact that Donald Trump’s the ‘evil yellowish man,’ and we indispensable ballot tegument colour and enactment line."

Fox News Digital reached retired to Lyles' bureau for comment.