WSOC: “Michael Whatley’s main attack on former Gov. Roy Cooper is the COVID-era settlement that resulted in the early release of inmates from prison. But in the early stages of the state’s battle against COVID-19, Whatley…criticized Cooper for not doing enough to protect inmates in prison.”

A new bombshell report from WSOC is exposing Michael Whatley for previously supporting the court-ordered settlement that forced the state to increase inmate releases during the pandemic – the same settlement he and Republicans have attacked Roy Cooper over for months, even after Whatley’s attacks were fact checked as false.

As NC GOP Chair, Whatley criticized Cooper during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic for not doing enough “to protect folks in prison” [1:34]. And under Whatley’s leadership, the NCGOP criticized Cooper for only taking “COVID in prison seriously when a judge orders him too.”

Six years later, Whatley is lying and taking the opposite position just for his own political gain.

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WSOC: Before campaign attack, Whatley urged stronger prison COVID response

Joe Bruno | July 1, 2026

• Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley’s main attack on former Gov. Roy Cooper is the COVID-era settlement that resulted in the early release of inmates from prison.
• But in the early stages of the state’s battle against COVID-19, Whatley and NCGOP, which he led at the time, criticized Cooper for not doing enough to protect inmates in prison.
• In a July 2020 NCGOP roundtable, Whatley called out Cooper for his COVID-19 response, including in prisons.
• A week later, NCGOP issued a press release about a TV ad Cooper was running about the COVID response. The press release criticized Cooper for only “taking COVID in prison seriously when a judge orders him to.” The press release linked to a Charlotte Observer article that was about the judicial case that eventually led to people being released from prison.

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