North Carolina Senate Race: Whatley Critiques Cooper’s Policies

During a recent television interview, North Carolina Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley commented on his opponent, former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper, stating that Cooper is “very much in favor of releasing criminals from prison.”

Host Mike Slater brought up the numerous arrests of an individual in Charlotte, mentioning the murder of Irina Zalutka. Whatley expressed his disbelief, asking, “What the hell? Do people in North Carolina care about this?”

Whatley insisted that North Carolinians do care, calling it a crucial matter. He pointed out that while Cooper was governor, he participated in BLM and Antifa marches during the 2020 riots and subsequently signed an executive order aimed at “reimagining” law enforcement in the state.

“In that executive order, a task force was formed to recommend policies like cashless bail and pretrial release,” Whatley explained. He criticized these measures as contributing to a system that repeatedly lets criminals back onto the streets, citing DeCarlos Brown Jr. as the suspect in Zalutka’s murder, who had been arrested and released multiple times.

“This is a man who was arrested and released 14 times before he murdered Irina Zalutka in a train carriage,” Whatley stated. He added that they’d seen similar trends with numerous individuals arrested multiple times. “We’re highlighting this now with a new campaign called Mugshot Monday, where we spotlight one person each week to show the impact of Roy Cooper’s crime-reduction policies on North Carolina.”

Whatley reiterated his commitment to fostering dialogue, stressing that government should prioritize public safety. “Roy Cooper was instrumental in getting criminals released from prison on a large scale,” he claimed. “He signed an executive order that let 3,500 inmates go, which is about one-eighth of North Carolina’s prison population.”