Aid to several communities impacted by Hurricane Helene was temporarily paused in parts of North Carolina over the weekend due to reports of threats against Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) responders, amid a backdrop of misinformation about responses to Hurricane Helene.
Federal disaster workers then changed some of their hurricane-recovery efforts in western parts of the state, including abandoning door-to-door visits, after receiving threats that they could be "targeted by a militia."
The threats are a direct result of lies spread by Donald Trump and his allies in the storm’s aftermath to use false information about the Biden administration’s response in the final weeks before the election.
Their debunked claims include false statements that victims can only receive $750 in aid, that emergency response funds were diverted to immigrants, that people accepting federal relief money could see their land seized, and that FEMA is halting trucks full of supplies.
A North Carolina man was arrested on Saturday for allegedly threatening harm against FEMA employees responding to calls. William Jacob Parsons was arrested and charged with Going Armed to the Terror of the Public, a misdemeanor, Capt. Jamie Keever said in a news release issued Monday.
Gov. Roy Cooper’s staff said in a statement Monday that his office was aware of “reports of threats to response workers on the ground,” as well as “significant misinformation online.” Cooper directed state law enforcement officials to work with local authorities to identify “the specific threats and rumors.”
Some FEMA operations were also paused Sunday in Ashe County, near the borders of Tennessee and Virginia, "out of an abundance of caution."