Armed Man Arrested After Alleged Threats To FEMA Workers Helping Hurricane Relief

An armed North Carolina man was taken into custody after allegedly threatening federal disaster workers providing aid in western parts of the state following Hurricane Helene.

William Jacob Parsons, 44, was arrested Saturday after local authorities said they received a report of a man with an assault-style rifle who made a comment “about possibly harming” workers with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the Lake Lure and Chimney Rock areas, the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office said Monday.

Parsons was heard voicing threats by a customer or worker at a gas station, a sheriff’s spokesperson told The New York Times.

Authorities said they received a description of the suspect’s vehicle and found Parsons, who is from the town of Bostic, armed with a handgun and rifle. He was taken into custody at a supermarket where a FEMA bus was parked but not occupied by workers, according to the Times.

Parsons was charged with “going armed to the terror of the public,” a misdemeanor, and released after posting a $10,000 bond.

The sheriff’s office said it believes Parsons acted alone and that no “truck load of militia” was heading to Lake Lure, as the initial report to authorities stated.

FEMA said that it had made some “operational changes” in North Carolina over the weekend that were “based on threat information” it had received. These changes included a pause on workers going door to door to register hurricane survivors for federal assistance, said FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.

Door-to-door canvassing operations resumed Monday, Criswell said at a Tuesday press conference, where she also spoke out against threats and false information circulating.

“Misinformation will not deter us from helping people, period,” she said. “This is what we are here to do, and I want to set the story straight.”

Federal workers have recently faced a number of threats related to the spread of false allegations and misinformation, largely by former President Donald Trump and right-wing influencers on social media.

FEMA has repeatedly spoken out against these rumors and lies. The agency has created a webpage that addresses some of the most common claims.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Monday that he has directed his state’s Department of Public Safety to help FEMA “coordinate with law enforcement to ensure their safety and security as they continue their important work.”

“We know that significant misinformation online contributes to threats against response workers on the ground, and the safety of responders must be a priority,” he said in a statement.