Democratic Socialists built thirty illegal benches across Wilmington and dared officials to touch them.
State transportation crews finally showed up and started hauling every single one away.
Now the socialists are crying louder than the taxpayers who paid to remove them.
How Wilmington's DSA Chapter Broke Bus Bench Rules for Over a Year
Wilmington's DSA chapter started planting handmade benches at bus stops back in April 2025.
City officials say the group never got approval from the city or the local transit authority.
Wilmington City Attorney Meredith Everhart explained the benches broke several rules at once.
She said they used the wrong style of seating, ignored disability access standards, skipped the city's approval steps, and pushed political messaging onto public land where it isn't allowed.
DSA got the message and simply ignored it.
The group kept building anyway and launched a pressure campaign to keep the benches standing.
Some of the benches carried slogans like "we must have mass social housing" painted right on the wood.
That is not a mutual aid project.
That is a political billboard paid for with someone else's patience.
NCDOT Removes Unauthorized DSA Bus Benches From State Roads
The North Carolina Department of Transportation had seen enough by early August.
Crews removed roughly 20 benches sitting on state-owned rights of way in a single day.
A DOT spokesperson said the benches did not meet state bus stop guidelines and created a safety hazard for the state.
New Hanover County Commissioner Dane Scalise had pushed for the cleanup for weeks.
He did not hold back when describing his view of the groups involved.
"We cannot stand for this," Scalise said, calling both the DSA and the Cape Fear Proud Boys extremist organizations after one stolen DSA bench turned up repainted with anti-socialist slogans.
Wilmington's city government held onto the handful of remaining benches in its own rights of way while officials figure out next steps.
The transit authority, meanwhile, has its own $765,000 plan already underway to install proper benches and shelters at nearly 40 stops.
Funny how the actual solution was already in motion before the socialists ever showed up with plywood and paint.
DSA Demands Wave Transit Bring Back Its Removed Bus Benches
The Wilmington DSA released a statement protesting what it called the theft and removal of its benches.
The group said it does not intend to pursue getting back the bench that was stolen and repainted.
It also called on county leaders to work with the state to bring the benches back or replace them.
Nobody forced this group to skip permits, ignore accessibility law, and paint political slogans on public property for over a year.
They chose that path themselves, then acted shocked when the state finally enforced its own rules.
A legitimate community group that wanted to help transit riders could have simply applied for permission like everyone else.
Instead they built a compliance headache and are now demanding the state clean up the emotional fallout too.
Taxpayers already fund a legitimate bench and shelter program through Wave Transit.
That program does not come with a side of socialist sloganeering, and that is exactly the point.
Sources:
- "DSA Activists Upset North Carolina Town Removed Their Propaganda Bus Stop Benches," Breitbart, August 9, 2026.
- "NCDOT removes unauthorized bus benches from state-owned roadways, city benches in limbo," Port City Daily, August 6, 2026.
- "Following in NCDOT footsteps, city stores DSA bus benches for now," Port City Daily, August 7, 2026.
- "Commissioner calls for end to politically motivated bus bench installations," WWAYTV3, August 2026.
- "Wilmington DSA issues statement after bus stop bench controversy," WWAYTV3, August 2026.
