A resurfaced clip of North Carolina Senate candidate and former Gov. Roy Cooper is drawing attention as Republicans attack his record on crime and prison releases..
The clip focuses on COVID-era prison releases during Cooper’s time as governor. Republicans have pointed to approximately 4,200 releases while criticizing his public-safety record. At the same time, Cooper says public safety officials decided who qualified and disputes how opponents are linking individual crimes to those releases.
Cooper’s comment about “more” people being released referred to the plaintiffs in the prison litigation, not to Cooper wishing more inmates had been freed. In the clip, he says the plaintiffs “were very frustrated that more weren’t released” before arguing that public safety officials handled release decisions.
He continues, “This was something that we wanted to do to make sure we worked to protect the public. Public safety officers made decisions about this. They followed the lead of President Trump’s team.” Cooper then says, “The problem here is that they’re lying about all of these cases that they’re trying to connect to this.”
The footage also includes an ad line, “We paid the price when Roy Cooper put criminals before the innocent,” and Whatley saying, “Roy Cooper is the one who let 4,200 criminals out.”
Whatley’s campaign has estimated that approximately 4,200 inmates received early releases during Cooper’s administration, while the 2021 COVID settlement called for 3,500 accelerated early reentries.
Republicans have also criticized Cooper for commuting 15 death sentences on his final day as governor. Those cases were separate from the COVID releases, and the sentences became life without parole, meaning none of those prisoners were released.
How Viewers Are Responding to the North Carolina Clip
The resurfaced clip drew criticism from viewers who questioned Cooper’s defense of the COVID-era prison releases. “You protect the public letting criminals out of jail??” one person asked.
Others focused on the number released. “How about letting 0 out?” one viewer wrote, while another called the situation “Simply Insane.”
Some also questioned Cooper discussing the issue while running for Senate, with one viewer wondering why he would address the controversy this way while “running for office.”
The criticism, however, largely reflects how the viral post was framed. Cooper did not say in the clip that he personally wanted more prisoners released. He said the plaintiffs in the prison litigation “were very frustrated that more weren’t released,” while maintaining that public safety officials made the decisions about who qualified.
The releases have become another flashpoint in the North Carolina Senate race. Cooper says public safety officials determined who qualified for COVID-era early reentry, while Republicans are using the releases and his separate death-row commutations to challenge his public-safety record.
