CNN —
A North Carolina man was arrested over the weekend after allegedly threatening to harm FEMA workers responding to Hurricane Helen, according to the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office.
Capt. Jamie Keever said in a news release issued Monday that 44-year-old William Jacob Parsons was arrested and charged with armed terrorizing the public.
“Parsons was armed with a handgun and a rifle,” Keever said.
The sheriff’s office began investigating Saturday after receiving reports that a man “made comments that he may have harmed FEMA employees who were working in the Lake Lure and Chimney Rock areas after Hurricane Helen.” did.
Parsons was found later that day after investigators received information about the car’s color and license plate, the sheriff’s office said.
Keever said Parsons was arrested in his car outside a grocery store serving as a storm relief facility.
Parsons is currently being released on a $10,000 secured bond, according to the sheriff’s office.
It was not immediately clear whether Parsons has an attorney. CNN was unable to reach Parsons on Monday at a phone number listed in his name.
Reports of threats against Federal Emergency Management Agency responders, amid a backdrop of misinformation about the response to recent storms, halted aid to multiple communities affected by Hurricane Helen over the weekend in parts of North Carolina. The department was temporarily suspended.
Some FEMA teams helping disaster survivors apply for aid in rural North Carolina are currently working out of secure disaster recovery centers in counties where federal workers are under threat, a FEMA spokesperson said. told CNN on Monday.
“For the safety of our dedicated staff and the disaster survivors we support, FEMA has made operational adjustments,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “Disaster recovery centers will remain open as scheduled, survivors will continue to register for assistance, and we will continue to help North Carolinians recover.”
CNN affiliate WBTV reviewed messages sent to employees of a FEMA contractor in Rutherford County on Saturday after the National Guard reported seeing an “armed militia” threatening workers. FEMA officials have admitted that they have been forced to suspend operations. The threat was first reported by the Washington Post.
In announcing Parsons’ arrest, Keever said, “It was determined that Parsons acted alone and the militia in the truck did not proceed to Lake Lure.”
Rutherford County is southeast of the hard-hit Asheville area, where parts of the mountainous region suffered deadly flooding and mudslides as Helen carved a path of destruction across the Southeast after making landfall in Florida last month. I was disappointed. More than 100 people were killed in North Carolina, and thousands were devastated.
Jordan Monahan, deputy communications director for North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, said, “We take the serious misinformation circulating online, reports of threats to our responders in the field, and the safety of our responders seriously.” I know it’s necessary,” he said. “The Governor has directed the Department of Public Safety to identify specific threats and rumors with local law enforcement and work with FEMA and other partners to ensure safety and security as this recovery effort continues. did.”
Sheriff B. Phil Howell said on Facebook that some FEMA operations were also suspended Sunday in Ashe County, near the Tennessee-Virginia border, out of an abundance of caution. That includes requests for direct assistance in at least two locations “due to ongoing threats in some counties,” the county’s Office of Emergency Management said. The sheriff’s office and the Office of Emergency Management announced Monday that those locations have reopened.
Mr Howell urged residents to “stay calm, stay steady, help others and don’t stir the pot while you recover.”
Delays in FEMA’s in-person operations will only delay aid from reaching those in need, especially in the complex terrain of western North Carolina, former FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate told CNN. .
Disaster applicants can begin the process online and receive partial assistance, but FEMA officials need to finalize applications and verify damage in person to get funds into disaster victims’ hands faster. There is.
“Eventually we’ll have to send inspectors out there, and that could slow people down,” Fugate said. “We go into these areas to confirm that this is where people live, this is their home, and verify the damage caused by the disaster.”
FEMA continues to assess potential threats to personnel in affected areas and is coordinating with local officials regarding the safety of personnel and will make future adjustments as needed, the spokesperson said. .
More than 1,200 FEMA employees were assisting in North Carolina as of Saturday, according to the agency’s latest information. More than 250 urban search and rescue workers remained at the scene and rescued or assisted more than 3,200 survivors, according to the latest information.
CNN previously reported that widespread misinformation about the federal government’s response to Hurricanes Helen and Milton is hampering storm response efforts. President Joe Biden last week asked for information about the federal government’s digital response, including how officials are correcting misinformation, according to administration officials.
“The contours of this misinformation are unlike anything we’ve seen before,” a senior Biden administration official told CNN.
Fugate said individual FEMA employees have received threats in the past, but on a much smaller scale.
“That’s rare in the field,” Fugate said. “This is unprecedented. We know there were individuals, but there was no community or group that threatened FEMA.”
U.S. officials familiar with the effort said U.S. officials told federal agency communications teams to post social media posts from their government accounts with photos showing federal workers clearing debris and distributing aid. He reportedly instructed them to increase the number.
Earlier this month, Rutherford County Public Information Officer Kelly Giles debunked rumors to CNN that “resources were being consumed that could have been better used for recovery efforts.” Rutherford and surrounding counties are posting photos and information about aid efforts to combat misinformation.
CNN’s Gabe Cohen, Arlette Saenz and Jalen Beckford contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with additional information.
