Federal disaster workers were forced to pause and change their hurricane recovery efforts in North Carolina after receiving threats that they could be targeted by “an armed militia,” the sheriff’s office in Rutherford County said.
The 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 some of the areas hit hardest by Hurricane Helene less than three weeks ago.
Investigators identified the man as William Jacob Parsons, 44, and said they located him armed with a handgun and a rifle. He was charged with going armed to the terror of the public, which is a misdemeanor.
The sheriff’s office said initial reports indicated a “truckload of militia” was involved in making the threat, but now believe Parsons acted alone.
Riva Duncan, a former US Forest Service official who lives in Asheville, North Carolina and is now with Grassroots Wildland Firefighters joined LiveNOW from FOX’s Josh Breslow to discuss the situation on the ground.
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