Fact Check: Did Roy Cooper let 16,000 untested rape kits sit on the shelf?

Media Bias Fact Check (MBFC) publishes daily vetted fact checks from verified IFCN-approved sources. Each claim is independently reviewed for accuracy and context.


Claimant: No Going Back PAC


Claim: Roy Cooper “let 16,000 untested rape kits sit on the shelf” while serving as North Carolina attorney general.


Rating: FALSE


Explanation: The roughly 15,000 untested kits were held by more than 500 local law enforcement agencies and had never been submitted to the North Carolina State Crime Laboratory that Cooper oversaw. The statewide backlog was not identified until a 2017 inventory after Cooper had become governor. (factcheck.org)


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Date: 09/29/2026


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Last Updated on September 29, 2026 by Media Bias Fact Check