Story perspectives

Trump’s Willie Horton Attack Faces Corrections Pushback in NC

By Drooid · Sep 19, 2026, 12:00 PM UTC · How we work

Center

Cooper’s Prison Releases

U.S. President Donald Trump held a rally in Gastonia, North Carolina, on Wednesday, invoking the 1988 Willie Horton ad while attacking Roy Cooper.
RNC Press Secretary Natalie Baldassarre defended Trump’s remarks and accused Cooper of emptying prisons and releasing violent criminals.
The victim was 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, killed August 22, 2025, in Charlotte.
Decarlos Brown Jr., a man with 14 cases, was released by magistrate after Cooper left office.

Left

Trump's Misleading Assertion

U.S. President Donald Trump held a rally in Gastonia, North Carolina, on Wednesday, attacking candidate Roy Cooper and invoking the 1988 Willie Horton ad.
Critics described the Willie Horton reference as a racially charged dog-whistle that exploits Black criminality.
Trump compared the killing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska in 2025 to the Horton case.
North Carolina corrections officials said Cooper did not release Decarlos Brown early, contradicting Trump’s claim.

Blindspot

FBI data for 2024 placed North Carolina 19th among states for violent-crime rates, contradicting Trump’s claim the state is “one of the most violent.”
Within this story's sources, this angle appears mainly in Left-leaning coverage and receives less attention in Center-leaning coverage.

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Cooper’s Prison Releases

U.S. President Donald Trump held a rally in Gastonia, North Carolina, on Wednesday, invoking the 1988 Willie Horton ad while attacking Roy Cooper.
RNC Press Secretary Natalie Baldassarre defended Trump’s remarks and accused Cooper of emptying prisons and releasing violent criminals.
The victim was 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, killed August 22, 2025, in Charlotte.
Decarlos Brown Jr., a man with 14 cases, was released by magistrate after Cooper left office.

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