Widespread misinformation about the Federal Emergency Management Agency's relief efforts in North Carolina following Hurricane Helene has culminated in a man's arrest after he allegedly threatened harm to responders.
Capt. Jamie Keever of the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office announced on Monday that his department arrested and charged 44-year-old William Jacob Parsons with the misdemeanor of "Going Armed to the Terror of the Public."
According to CNN, the sheriff's office received a tip on Oct. 12 about a man who "made the comment about possibly harming FEMA employees working after the disaster of Hurricane Helene in the Lake Lure and Chimney Rock area."
Investigators found Parsons in his car "armed with a handgun and a rifle," per Keever, and detained him as he waited outside of a makeshift emergency relief site operating out of a grocery store.
FEMA paused its door-to-door outreach after reports of an armed militia threatening workers in Rutherford County surfaced. However, FEMA announced that "the threat was more limited than initially reported."
Parsons, who was deemed to be acting alone, has since been released from custody on a $10,000 secured bond.
An update from FEMA announced that it had approved $96 million for housing and other assistance to 75,000 households in North Carolina. As of Oct. 12, there were over 1,200 employees on the ground in the state, while 250 Urban Search and Rescue personnel had rescued or supported around 3,200 victims.
However, threats and harassment against FEMA employees forced the stoppage of aid in communities ravaged by Hurricane Helene, which killed more than 100 people in North Carolina and left thousands of others grappling with devastating losses.
False and misleading statements about FEMA's disaster response services have become so rampant that it forced the agency to have a page dedicated to debunking these claims.
Hurricane Helene has also been the source of other baseless conspiracy theories, like the idea spread by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene that the government can control the weather, something The Cool Down has also taken steps to address across articles and videos.
"We know that significant misinformation online contributes to threats against response workers on the ground, and the safety of responders must be a priority," Gov. Roy Cooper said in a statement.
"At my direction, the North Carolina Department of Public Safety … is helping partners like FEMA to coordinate with law enforcement to ensure their safety and security as they continue their important work."
Misinformation only serves to disrupt the important work that responders provide to those in need, former FEMA administrator Craig Fugate said, noting that harassment has become abnormally frequent.
"In the field, it's rare," he told CNN. "This is unprecedented. I know we've had individuals but not an area or a group that's threatening FEMA."
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