Staff Reports
Breitbart this week posted a short campaign clip that has Gov. Roy Cooper scrambling. In the video, Cooper tells reporters that “independent fact checks” show attacks tying him to large COVID-era prisoner releases are “simply not true,” and he claims to be the only candidate in the race who “prosecuted violent criminals and worked to keep them behind bars.” That exchange is now the latest flashpoint in a running fight over a 2021 settlement and who — if anyone — is accountable for people who walked out of prison early during the pandemic.
What the clip actually shows — and why it matters
The footage comes from a campaign event where Cooper was asked about the settlement that set a baseline number of releases tied to prison conditions during COVID. The court papers and mainstream reporting make clear the settlement targeted a minimum of 3,500 releases as part of the negotiated remedy. Conservative researchers later compiled a larger list — roughly 4,200 unique offender IDs — and used that to broaden the political attack. Cooper’s short answer to reporters was meant to shut down the story. Instead, it invited questions about numbers, methods, and who knew what and when.
The Brown case and the fact-check wrinkle
Here’s where the story gets messy and why “he lied” is too neat a sound bite. Independent fact-checkers examined a central example Republicans used — the release of DeCarlos Brown Jr., later charged in a high-profile murder — and concluded Brown was released months before the settlement was finalized. That timeline undercuts the claim that the settlement directly caused his release. At the same time, critics point out the state’s own documents and a private database show many IDs tied to the release process, and some of those people later committed crimes. Different lists, different methodologies, different conclusions. Transparency would make the debate less partisan and more factual — but apparently that’s not the style at Cooper HQ.
Politics, public safety, and Cooper’s dodge
Voters deserve straight answers, not campaign spin. Whether you accept the 3,500 floor in the settlement or the 4,200 number critics tout, the policy choices around the Task Force recommendations, Cooper’s vetoes, and prosecutorial priorities matter for public safety. Cooper’s reflexive move to point at “fact checks” without naming which ones, while insisting he alone prosecuted violent criminals, reads like a politician trying to have it both ways: claim the law-and-order mantle while distancing himself from an unpopular outcome. That’s not leadership. It’s deflection — and it should make voters uneasy.
Bottom line: demand the lists, the math, and the answers
The story will not go away until someone publishes the documents and explains the methodology used to compile these lists. Journalists should press for the official release roster tied to the settlement, for the state to explain administrative additions to those rosters, and for Cooper to name the independent fact checks that supposedly vindicate him. North Carolinians shouldn’t have to choose between spin and fear — they should have facts. If Gov. Cooper is confident in his record, he’ll stop pointing fingers and start opening files. Until then, expect this clip to keep getting airtime, and expect critics to keep asking the hard questions.
