A North Carolina man was arrested for making threatening comments against Federal Emergency Management Agency workers in Rutherford County as the agency continues to sort the wreckage left by Hurricane Helene.
William Parsons, 44, was arrested by the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office and charged with “going armed to the terror of the public” after authorities received reports he made threatening comments about FEMA workers while armed, according to local news outlets.
Parsons was equipped with a rifle and a handgun when he was arrested Sunday. He was released on $10,000 bond.
The tip was called in by a soldier who is part of the hurricane response in the devastated area of Lake Lure and Chimney Rock. That soldier reported that he saw Parsons making the threatening comments while in a store.
FEMA’s operations were interrupted on Sunday due to the threat. Those services were resumed Monday.
“FEMA continues to support communities impacted by Helene and help survivors apply for assistance,” a FEMA spokesperson said in a statement. “Disaster Recovery Centers will continue to be open as scheduled, survivors continue to register for assistance, and we continue to help the people of North Carolina with their recovery.”
Panic spread among the hurricane response workers following initial reports of an “armed militia” who were going to confront the aid workers.
That claim stemmed from an alert sent by a US Forest Service official on Saturday, which said in part that the National Guard “had come across…trucks of armed militias saying they were hunting FEMA”, according to the Washington Post.
A spokesperson for the North Carolina National Guard had not identified anyone who made such a report.
The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office said that Parsons acted alone and they do not know of any other credible threats but remain on high alert.
His arrest comes after multiple false reports spread online of the federal government attempting to seize land in the area of Chimney Rock. That small mountain town was decimated by Hurricane Helene despite being 400 miles away from where the storm made landfall on Sept. 26.
Power was restored to the Chimney Rock Fire Department last Thursday but many homes and businesses in the area remain without power still.
“It’s a war zone,” said Shawn Calvert of Duke Energy, which restored power to the fire department. “Half of the town of Chimney Rock – there’s five or six businesses up here that used to be there that are completely gone. The rest of the houses here are half-washed away.”
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