Democrat Roy Cooper Claims People Frustrated ‘More’ Prisoners Were Not Released
Elizabeth Weibel
Breitbart
September 13, 2026
Former North Carolina governor and current Democrat Senate candidate Roy Cooper claimed that people “were very frustrated” that his administration did not release more prisoners.
CNN’s Manu Raju asked Cooper if he had “regrets” about the way he and his administration handled a “court-ordered settlement” between “civil rights groups to reduce the prison population during the COVID-era.”
“The centerpiece of the Republican campaign against you is this settlement deal that you reached about the prisoner release, roughly 3,500 prisoners were released early. When you look back at the way that was handled by you and your administration, do you have any regrets by the way you handled that?” Raju asked.
“This is something that the state had to do, because the court ordered it,” Cooper responded. “And, I think a lot of people believe, if you ask the plaintiffs, they were very frustrated that more weren’t released. ”
Cooper’s comments came after reporting from Raju noted how North Carolina Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley “has centered his attacks on Cooper’s record on crime” and has criticized Cooper over the court-ordered settlement. Whatley has said the actual number of convicted criminals that Cooper released could be more than 4,200.
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