Suspect armed with gun arrested after threats against FEMA in North Carolina

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A male suspect carrying an assault rifle who had made comments about “potentially harming” U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency employees after Hurricane Helene was arrested in North Carolina over the weekend, local officials said on Monday.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

FEMA has been the subject of political wrangling in dealing with the impact of massive storms. Officials have said any rumors could lead to targeting FEMA workers.

Former President Donald Trump and Republican allies have said, without citing evidence, that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, used federal relief money to help people who were in the country illegally.

The agency has set up a rumor response page on its website to suppress unsubstantiated claims about how its funds have been used.

KEY QUOTES

The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office received a call Saturday reporting that “a white male had an assault rifle and made the comment about possibly harming FEMA employees working after the Hurricane Helene disaster in Lake Lure and Chimney Rock area,” the sheriff’s office said. on Monday.

Officials responded to the location and arrested the suspect, identified as 44-year-old William Jacob Parsons, who was armed with a handgun and a rifle. He was charged with “armed action against the terror of the public,” the sheriff’s office said.

CONTEXT

Parsons, who could not immediately be contacted, posted $10,000 bond on the misdemeanor charge and was released.

Rutherford County is located southeast of Asheville, North Carolina, which was hit hard by Hurricane Helene, which killed more than 200 people in six states, nearly half of them in North Carolina alone.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Christopher Cushing)