Why Was Roy Cooper and His Campaign Staff Meeting with Jennifer Roberts During the Charlotte Riots? | Eastern NC Now

Press Release:

    RALEIGH, NC     In the heat of the Charlotte riots, Roy Cooper and a campaign staffer met with Mayor Jennifer Roberts in a backdoor meeting.

    "Roy Cooper had no official role, so why was he there with his campaign staff, connected at the hip with Jennifer Roberts in the middle of a major crisis? Was he calling the shots and did he advise the Mayor on how to handle the situation? Did he advise Jennifer Roberts not to ask the Governor to call in the National Guard while law enforcement officers were injured and an additional death occurred? Did he advise Jennifer Roberts to call for a DOJ investigation," asked Dallas Woodhouse, Executive Director for the NCGOP.

    When asked about it, Roberts stated that Cooper was there to advise on the SBI. This is strange, considering Roy Cooper no longer controls the SBI due to his egregiously poor leadership.

    Following the shooting of Keith Scott, Governor McCrory reached out to Roberts and offered state resources to help in any capacity with protests. Roberts denied the additional resources over "how it would look," and as a result, areas of Charlotte experienced violence, property destruction, looting, law enforcement injuries, and one protestor was killed. The following evening, despite multiple requests to instate a curfew early in the day, Roberts refused to do so until 9pm.

    "There are a lot of questions that need to be asked of Roberts and Cooper," continued Woodhouse. "Roberts and Cooper have rejected quite a few things from the Governor, and it's not far-fetched to suggest Cooper advised Roberts through the Charlotte protests seeking his political gain."

• Contact: NCGOP Communications
•     communications@ncgop.org