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Federal disaster personnel have resumed door-to-door visits as part of their hurricane-recovery work in North Carolina, an effort temporarily suspended amid threats that prompted officials to condemn the spread of disinformation.
Over the weekend, reports emerged that workers with the Federal Emergency Management Agency could be targeted by militia as the government responds to Huricane Helene. A sheriff's office said Monday that one man was arrested during an investigation, but that the suspect acted alone.
FEMA made operational changes to keep personnel safe “out of an abundance of caution," agency Administrator Deanne Criswell said at a briefing Tuesday. FEMA workers were back in the field Monday, accompanied by Criswell, and she said disaster-assistance teams helping survivors apply for FEMA aid as well as state and local assistance will continue to go door-to-door. She emphasized that the agency isn't going anywhere.
“The federal family has been here working side by side with the state since Day One. These are people who put their lives on hold to help those who have lost everything,” Criswell said. “So let me be clear. I take these threats seriously.”
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said he directed the state's Department of Public Safety to coordinate law enforcement assistance for FEMA and other responders. He stressed the damage that internet rumors and falsehoods were causing and said officials may never know how many people won't apply for assistance because of misinformation and “wild accusations” they've heard.
“There’s still a persistent and dangerous flow of misinformation about recovery efforts in western North Carolina that can lead to threats and intimidation, breeds confusion and demoralizes storm survivors and response workers alike,” Cooper said at the briefing. “If you’re participating in spreading this stuff, stop it. Whatever your aim is, the people you are really hurting are those in western North Carolina who need help.”
The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office said it received a call Saturday about a man with an assault rifle who made a comment “about possibly harming" FEMA employees working in the hard-hit areas of Lake Lure and Chimney Rock in the North Carolina mountains. A man was charged with “going armed to the terror of the public,” a misdemeanor, and was released after posting bond.
The sheriff’s office said initial reports indicated that a “truckload of militia” was involved in making the threat, but further investigation determined that the man acted alone.
FEMA has faced rampant disinformation about its response to Helene, which hit Florida on Sept. 26 before heading north and leaving a trail of destruction across six states.
Asked what might be causing the proliferation of disinformation, Cooper said social media has become more extreme, but he also pointed to politics.
“This is happening in the middle of an election where candidates are using people’s misery to sow chaos for their own political objectives — and it’s wrong,” he said. “It’s disappointing when candidates knowing full well what they’re doing are continuing this kind of disinformation filled with lies.”
Former President Donald Trump and his allies have seized on the storm's aftermath to spread false information about the Biden administration’s response in the final weeks before the election. Their debunked claims include false statements that victims can only receive $750 in aid, that emergency response funds were diverted to immigrants, that people accepting federal relief money could see their land seized and that FEMA is halting trucks full of supplies.
Meanwhile, confusion has arisen about what the agency does and doesn’t do when disaster strikes.
Helene decimated remote towns throughout the Appalachians, left millions without power, knocked out cellular service and killed at least 246 people. It was the deadliest hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland since Katrina in 2005.
