‘It is rare in the field’

Widespread misinformation about the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response to North Carolina after Hurricane Helene has resulted in the arrest of a man after he allegedly threatened to harm first responders.

Captain Jamie Keever of the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday that his department has arrested and charged 44-year-old William Jacob Parsons with the crime of Armed Terrorism of the Public.

According to CNN, the sheriff’s office received a tip on October 12 about a man who “made a comment about possibly harming FEMA employees working after the Hurricane Helene disaster in the Lake Lure and Chimney Rock area.”

Investigators found Parsons in his car “armed with a pistol and a rifle,” Keever said, and detained him as he waited outside a makeshift emergency response location operating out of a convenience store.

FEMA paused its door-to-door operations after reports surfaced of an armed militia threatening workers in Rutherford County. However, FEMA announced that “the threat was more limited than initially reported.”

Parsons, who was believed to have acted alone, has since been released on a $10,000 bond.

An update from FEMA announced that it had approved $96 million in housing and other assistance to 75,000 households in North Carolina. As of October 12, more than 1,200 personnel were on site across the state, while 250 Urban Search and Rescue personnel had rescued or supported approximately 3,200 victims.

However, threats and intimidation against FEMA workers forced a halt to aid in communities ravaged by Hurricane Helene, which killed more than a hundred people in North Carolina and left thousands more with devastating losses.

False and misleading statements about FEMA’s emergency response services have become so widespread that the agency was forced to have a page dedicated to debunking these claims.

Hurricane Helene has also been the source of other baseless conspiracy theories, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s idea that the government can control the weather, something The Cool Down has also taken steps to address in articles and videos.

Watch Now: Can the Government Cause Hurricanes?

“We know that significant misinformation online contributes to threats against first responders on the ground, and the safety of first 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 coordinate with law enforcement agencies to ensure their safety and security as they continue their important work.”

Misinformation only serves to disrupt the important work that first responders provide to those in need, said former FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, noting that harassment is abnormally common.

“In the field it’s rare,” he told CNN. “This is unprecedented. I know we’ve had individuals, but not an area or group that FEMA is threatening.”

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