Editor’s Note 10/23/24: Since this story was first published, officials in Buncombe County, North Carolina, home to Asheville, have reported they overcounted the death toll in their region by as many as 30. Some of the death toll figures in this story are no longer accurate.
A North Carolina man was arrested over the weekend for allegedly threatening harm against FEMA employees responding to Hurricane Helene, according to the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office.
William Jacob Parsons, 44, 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.
“Parsons was armed with a handgun and a rifle,” Keever said.
The sheriff’s office began investigating Saturday after receiving a call that a man “made the comment about possibly harming FEMA employees working after the disaster of Hurricane Helene in the Lake Lure and Chimney Rock area.”
Parsons was found later that day after investigators received information about the color and license plate of his vehicle, according to the sheriff’s office.
Parsons was arrested in his car outside a grocery store that is functioning as a storm relief site, Keever said.
Parsons is now free on a $10,000 secured bond, the sheriff’s office said.
It was not immediately clear whether Parsons had an attorney. CNN was unable to reach Parsons on Monday at any of the phone numbers listed in his name.
Threat caused some FEMA offices to close
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 responders, amid a backdrop of misinformation about responses to recent storms.
Door-to-door outreaches resumed after about a day, a FEMA spokesperson said Monday. FEMA wanted to ensure it protected staff on the ground while the agency worked with local law enforcement officials to assess the threats and how serious they were, according to the spokesperson.
The alleged threat from Parsons was the main one FEMA was aware of when officials decided to pull back its staff going door to door, the FEMA spokesperson said, adding the agency has been the target of threats and harassment for several days.
Before resuming neighborhood visits, some FEMA teams worked in secure disaster recovery centers in counties where federal workers were receiving threats, FEMA said.
On Saturday, FEMA workers had to halt their work in Rutherford County due to reports National Guard troops saw “armed militia” threatening the workers, CNN affiliate WBTV confirmed after reviewing messages sent to employees of a FEMA contractor. The threats were first reported by the Washington Post.
In the announcement of Parsons’ arrest, Keever said, “It was determined Parsons acted alone and there were no truck loads of militia going to Lake Lure.”
FEMA said Monday: “The threat was more limited than initially reported and mitigated by law enforcement.”
Rutherford County is southeast of the hard-hit Asheville area, and part of the region slammed by deadly flooding and landslides as Helene carved a path of destruction through the Southeast after making landfall in Florida last month. More than 100 people were killed in North Carolina and thousands of others were left grappling with catastrophic damage.
“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 (which includes the highway patrol) is helping partners like FEMA to coordinate with law enforcement to ensure their safety and security as they continue their important work.”
Some FEMA operations were also paused Sunday in Ashe County, near the borders of Tennessee and Virginia, out of an abundance of caution, Sheriff B. Phil Howell said on Facebook. This included in-person applications for aid in at least two locations “due to threats occurring in some counties,” according to the county’s emergency management office. Those locations reopened Monday, the sheriff and emergency management office announced.
Howell urged residents to “stay calm and steady during our recovery, help folks and please don’t stir the pot.”
FEMA interruptions delay aid to victims
The delays to in-person work by FEMA will only slow down aid from reaching those who need it, especially in the complex terrain of western North Carolina, former FEMA administrator Craig Fugate told CNN.
Disaster applicants can start the process online and receive partial aid, but FEMA officials need to see the damage in person to finalize the request and get money into the hands of disaster survivors faster.
“Ultimately, they’re going to have to get inspectors in there and that could slow things down for people,” Fugate said. “Getting into these areas to verify this is where people live, this is their home, validate the damages caused by the disaster.”
FEMA continues to assess potential threats to its staff in impacted areas and the agency is coordinating with local officials on the safety of its employees and will make future adjustments as needed, the spokesperson said.
There were more than 1,200 FEMA staff providing support in North Carolina as of Saturday, according to an update from the agency. More than 250 Urban Search and Rescue personnel remained in the field and had rescued or supported more than 3,200 survivors, the update said.
Misinformation ‘unlike anything we’ve seen before’
Misinformation circulating about the federal response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton has hampered response efforts to the storms, CNN previously reported. President Joe Biden requested information last week on the federal government’s digital response, including how officials were remediating misinformation, an administration official said.
“The contours of this misinformation are unlike anything we’ve seen before,” a senior Biden administration official told CNN.
Fugate said individual FEMA personnel have received threats in the past but on a much smaller scale.
“In the field, it’s rare,” Fugate said. “This is unprecedented. I know we’ve had individuals but not an area or a group that’s threatening FEMA.”
Senior US officials have instructed public affairs teams at federal agencies to ramp up social media posts from government accounts with photos illustrating how federal workers are clearing debris and dispensing aid, a US official familiar with the effort said.
Earlier this month, the public information officer for Rutherford County, Kerry Giles, told CNN, debunking the rumors “did consume resources that could have been more effectively utilized in the recovery efforts.” Rutherford and surrounding counties have been posting photos and information about aid efforts to combat the misinformation.
CNN’s Arlette Saenz and Jalen Beckford contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with additional information.