Cooper Campaign Says Traffic Violations ‘Unacceptable,’ New Video Shows Cooper’s Security Apparently Breaking Traffic Laws

This week, the Cooper for Senate campaign has been attacking Republican Michael Whatley over some traffic-related offenses, calling it “unacceptable.” Unlike Cooper, who is chauffeured by his security team, Whatley drove himself across the state organizing North Carolina to elect President Donald Trump. 

The latest videos are now surfacing showing Roy Cooper’s security detail flagrantly violating North Carolina’s traffic laws, with Cooper in the immediate vicinity. This is simply what was caught on camera; there is a significant chance that there were even more traffic violations that were simply unenforced because the Governor was driven around by taxpayer-funded security.  

At the event near the North Carolina State Capitol, Cooper can be seen entering his taxpayer-funded SUV, which then blatantly passes a stopped school bus with its red lights flashing. The North Carolina State Capitol complex is a popular field trip destination where children from across North Carolina learn about state government.  

North Carolina Code § 20-217 clearly states, “(a) When a school bus is displaying its mechanical stop signal or flashing red lights and the bus is stopped for the purpose of receiving or discharging passengers, the driver of any other vehicle that approaches the school bus from any direction on the same street, highway, or public vehicular area shall bring that other vehicle to a full stop and shall remain stopped. The driver of the other vehicle shall not proceed to move, pass, or attempt to pass the school bus until after the mechanical stop signal has been withdrawn, the flashing red stoplights have been turned off, and the bus has started to move.”  It continues, “(e) Except as provided in subsection (g) of this section, any person violating this section shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor and shall pay a minimum fine of five hundred dollars ($500.00). A person who violates subsection (a) of this section shall not receive a prayer for judgment continued under any circumstances.  

Before Cooper’s entourage violated school bus safety laws, Cooper signed legislation to help protect students from dangerous drivers who disregard basic school bus safety. In 2017, after signing legislation to strengthen school bus safety, Cooper said, “Speeding past a stopped school bus puts children's lives at risk, sometimes with tragic results.”  

The second video shows yet another traffic violation from Cooper’s security team. North Carolina law § 20-162 says, “(a) No person shall park a vehicle or permit it to stand, whether attended or unattended, upon a highway in front of a private driveway or within 15 feet in either direction of a fire hydrant.”  

“You don’t have to be a lawyer to know that flashing red lights on a bus means stop and that it’s illegal to park in front of a fire hydrant,” said Wes Jones, an attorney at Chalmers, Adams, Backer, & Wallen. “Team Cooper clearly violated two laws, and more importantly, gravely endangered the public. What if a kid ran off the bus? What if a fire broke out at the science museum? I wish I could say I’m surprised, but this behavior is typical of the ‘laws for thee but not for me’ liberal mindset.”

The State Highway Patrol protects North Carolina’s Governors, so it is unlikely that a law enforcement officer would hold them accountable for following traffic laws. And the video clearly shows that there was no plausible explanation for violating the law other than providing greater convenience for the Governor.  

Back in 2023, Democrat State Auditor Beth Wood plead guilty to a misdemeanor for a hit and run accident, at the time Cooper called it a “troubling incident.”