A North Carolina man who allegedly threatened to harm Hurricane Helene relief workers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency was arrested on Saturday, authorities said.
William Jacob Parsons, 44, was charged with “going armed to the terror of the public,” Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on Monday. He has been released on bail and denies making threats towards aid workers.
The sheriff’s office said it received a call just before 1 p.m. on Saturday, about a man with an assault rifle who made a comment “about possibly harming” FEMA relief workers in the hard-hit areas of Lake Lure and Chimney Rock.
A deputy who went to the area where the threat was made was able to get a description of a suspect’s vehicle and license plate, the sheriff’s office said.
Authorities later identified him as 44-year-old Parsons, of Bostic, a small community about 60 miles west of Charlotte.
Image of William Jacob Parsons. The 44-year-old was charged with “going armed to the terror of the public” on Saturday, authorities confirmed.
Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office
A Facebook profile, believed to belong to Parsons, features multiple posts about COVID-19 and conspiracy theories about vaccines and voting systems. Some posts also include the logo of the “Three Percenters,” an anti-government militia group, U.K. news outlet the BBC reported.
Parsons denied threatening federal responders in an email to the BBC. He said he was “supporting the victims and helping with loading and unloading of water, food, clothing and other necessities for the victims of the horrendous storm.”
The sheriff’s office said Parsons, who was armed with a handgun and a rifle, was arrested and transported to the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Detention Center, where he was charged and released after posting a $10,000 bond.
The sheriff’s office said that initial reports indicated that a “truckload of militia” were involved in the threats but further investigation determined Parsons acted alone.
In response to the BBC, Parsons also denied being a member of any militia and called the U.S. government a “terrorist organization” that has “been violating our Constitutional Rights for way (too) long.”
Parsons could not immediately be reached for further comment.
The Washington Post reported on Sunday that the U.S. Forest Service, which is supporting hurricane recovery efforts alongside FEMA, had sent a message to multiple federal agencies on Saturday, warning that FEMA had advised all federal responders in Rutherford County to leave the county immediately.
The message said that National Guard troops had encountered “armed militia saying they were out hunting FEMA.”
FEMA confirmed to Newsweek that it adjusted operations in response to threats to its workers amid rampant misinformation about the agency’s response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
“FEMA continues to support communities impacted by Helene and help survivors apply for assistance,” the spokesperson said. “For the safety of our dedicated staff and the disaster survivors we are helping, FEMA has made some operational adjustments.”
The spokesperson added that that disaster recovery centers remain open and that FEMA continues “to help the people of North Carolina with their recovery.”
Newsweek also learned that workers from FEMA’s disaster assistance teams stopped going door-to-door as a safety precaution and were instead working from fixed locations.
Shayne Martin, a spokesperson for the Forest Service, confirmed to Newsweek that “a Forest Service liaison supporting the response to Hurricane Helene received an alert from FEMA that, in accordance with protocol, he relayed to interagency leadership” on Saturday.
Martin said the “communication was an internal one intended to help keep partners informed of the situation.”
FEMA officials later on Monday said the threat turned out to be more limited than initially reported and was “mitigated by law enforcement.”
“Keeping FEMA staff safe while they are helping people in disaster impacted communities is always my top priority,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.
