DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus Suspect arrested after reports of threats toward FEMA operations in North Carolina

A North Carolina man was arrested over the weekend for allegedly threatening harm against FEMA employees responding to Hurricane Helene, according to the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office.

William Jacob Parsons, 44, was arrested and charged with Going Armed to the Terror of the Public, a misdemeanor, Capt. Jamie Keever said in a news release issued Monday.

“Parsons was armed with a handgun and a rifle,” Keever said.

The sheriff’s office began investigating Saturday after receiving a call that a man “made the comment about possibly harming FEMA employees working after the disaster of Hurricane Helene in the Lake Lure and Chimney Rock area.”

Parsons was found after investigators received information about the color and license plate of his vehicle, according to the sheriff’s office.

Parsons was arrested in his car outside a grocery store that is functioning as a storm relief site, Keever said.

Parsons is now free on a $10,000 secured bond, the sheriff’s office said.

It was not immediately clear if Parsons had an attorney. CNN was unable to reach Parsons Monday at any of the phone numbers listed in his name.

Threat caused some FEMA offices to close

Aid to several communities impacted by Hurricane Helene was temporarily paused in parts of North Carolina over the weekend due to reports of threats against Federal Emergency Management Agency responders, amid a backdrop of misinformation about responses to recent storms.

Some FEMA teams helping disaster survivors apply for assistance in rural North Carolina are currently working at secure disaster recovery centers in counties where federal workers are receiving threats, a FEMA spokesperson told CNN on Monday.

“For the safety of our dedicated staff and the disaster survivors we are helping, FEMA has made some operational adjustments,” the 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.”

On Saturday, FEMA workers had to halt their work in Rutherford County due to reports National Guard troops saw “armed militia” threatening the workers, CNN affiliate WBTV confirmed after reviewing messages sent to employees of a FEMA contractor. The threats were first reported by the Washington Post.

In the announcement of Parsons’ arrest, Keever said, “It was determined Parsons acted alone and there were no truck loads of militia going to Lake Lure.”

Rutherford County is southeast of the hard-hit Asheville area, and part of the mountainous region slammed by deadly flooding and landslides as Helene carved a path of destruction through the Southeast after making landfall in Florida last month. More than 100 people were killed in North Carolina and thousands of others were left grappling with catastrophic damage.

“We are aware of significant misinformation online and reports of threats to response workers on the ground and the safety of responders must be taken seriously,” said Jordan Monaghan, deputy communications director for North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper. “The Governor has directed the Department of Public Safety to identify with local law enforcement the specific threats and rumors and coordinate with FEMA and other partners to ensure safety and security as this recovery effort continues.”

Some FEMA operations were also paused Sunday in Ashe County, near the borders of Tennessee and Virginia, out of an abundance of caution, Sheriff B. Phil Howell said on Facebook. This included in-person applications for aid in at least two locations “due to threats occurring in some counties,” according to the county’s emergency management office. Those locations reopened Monday, the sheriff and emergency management office announced.

Howell urged residents to “stay calm and steady during our recovery, help folks and please don’t stir the pot.”

FEMA interruptions delay aid to victims

The delays to in-person work by FEMA will only slow down aid from reaching those who need it, especially in the complex terrain of western North Carolina, former FEMA administrator Craig Fugate told CNN.

Disaster applicants can start the process online and receive partial aid, but FEMA officials need to see the damage in person to finalize the request and get money into the hands of disaster survivors faster.

“Ultimately, they’re going to have to get inspectors in there and that could slow things down for people,” Fugate said. “Getting into these areas to verify this is where people live, this is their home, validate the damages caused by the disaster.”

FEMA continues to assess potential threats to its staff in impacted areas and the agency is coordinating with local officials on the safety of its employees and will make future adjustments as needed, the spokesperson said.

There were more than 1,200 FEMA staff providing support in North Carolina as of Saturday, according to an update from the agency. More than 250 Urban Search and Rescue personnel remained in the field and had rescued or supported more than 3,200 survivors, the update said.

Misinformation ‘unlike anything we’ve seen before’

Misinformation circulating about the federal response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton has hampered response efforts to the storms, CNN previously reported. President Joe Biden requested information last week on the federal government’s digital response, including how officials were remediating misinformation, an administration official said.

“The contours of this misinformation are unlike anything we’ve seen before,” a senior Biden administration official told CNN.

Fugate said individual FEMA personnel have received threats in the past but on a much smaller scale.

“In the field, it’s rare,” Fugate said. “This is unprecedented. I know we’ve had individuals but not an area or a group that’s threatening FEMA.”

Senior US officials have instructed public affairs teams at federal agencies to ramp up social media posts from government accounts with photos illustrating how federal workers are clearing debris and dispensing aid, a US official familiar with the effort said.

Earlier this month, the public information officer for Rutherford County, Kerry Giles, told CNN, debunking the rumors “did consume resources that could have been more effectively utilized in the recovery efforts.” Rutherford and surrounding counties have been posting photos and information about aid efforts to combat the misinformation.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/14/us/fema-helene-north-carolina-reported-threats/index.html

Trump knows the impact lies such as this will cause. He knows and his supporters don't care.

My 19 yr old grandson has a gig job where he gets sent in with the electricians after this kind of natural disaster. He basically works with an outfit that keeps them fed, and gets them any personal supplies/sundries they need while they work. Sweet gig for him, pays 2k a week on 1099 contractor status. He’s already trying to figure out how to ‘be available’ whenever they need him but to also hold down a full time job in between. Smh.

Anyway, my reason for posting that is that it’s scary Trump is out there spreading FEMA lies while these people are trying to put those areas back in order. I would lose my damn mind if some dumbass duped Trumpian sludge shot him while he was helping. I don’t see how I would ever be able to be around people like that again. Idiots.

I don't agree with your Trumpian take, but I agree it is weak to threaten the people deployed. They are just trying to help.

FEMA on the other hand is too big to be managed. It's a cluster and it doesn't matter which party is in charge. DeSantis is a great leader in crisis. He made it clear from the get go that he is the Sheriff and FEMA is there in a support capacity. That is the way it should be.

It makes no sense to put the agency furthest away from the problem in charge.

So you don’t agree with his take, then you agreed with it. lol. Goper’s crack me up. Gopers don’t have a clue what they want. Going to just parrot trumps lies.

Yes, putting FEMA in charge of national disasters the way we have always done is terrible since they're so far away. It takes four days to get there by wagon train with supplies there.

What part of the lies trump has stated about the hurricane relief that FEMA has provided is it that you find to be true? Why would you defend him saying things like the governor's can't get in contact with Biden or FEMA when they all clearly have stated otherwise? Even you stated as much. Why would you defend that he stated all FEMA has done is giving people $750? What part of him lying about his claim that emergency relief funds from FEMA were spent on illegal immigrants? What part are you missing that he is saying these things to enrage people and paint a false picture based on these lies?

None of this is complicated.

You’re talking to a cult member. Just saying.

FEMA had declarations set up before hand in the states in peril and moved resources into areas needed. My aunt lost her home in the Ft. Pierce tornadoes and they posted a picture yesterday of all the trailers of FEMA, Red Cross and other helpers who were already there and set up.

As for the power, we had lineman on our out of the area jobs that are not core guys that work for us quitting 2+ weeks ago to go on a 3-4 month assignment for storm work.

What do you want to do, throw it back to private insurers? Let them fend for themselves

If you read thru project 2025, they want to do away with the National Flood Insurance and FEMA and throw it back to the states and private insurance.

https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/fema-workers-threatened-in-carter-county/

Another one from Tenn this weekend

The world has gone crazy. Crazy lies with no substance being told spread like wild fire. The people telling these lies know what they are doing and the consequences of those lies. But they just don't care.

Over the years, I've watched and read some of the stuff you've said, but I gotta tell you, that is the dumbest take I think you've ever said.

FEMA is the most well equipped to handle things like this. you on the other hand have decided that if Biden Sent them in, they are bad... I will bet you that if A republican sent them in, you would be overjoyed.

So if this is the wrong agency to send it, which would be the right one.

To be fair to Peen - even though I think he's drinking from the fountain of Breitbart of worse based on some posts recently - he said FEMA should be there in support of the local authorities. He didn't say don't send in FEMA.

As for Desnatis - he's an opportunist politician with few scruples. His position on LGBQT is out of the Victorian age. His transportation of immigrants flouted the law. Picking a fight with Disney was driven by ego. In my eyes he is a P.O.S politician. Not because he's a Republican - because of what he says and does.

And the illegals didn't flout the law? Asking for a friend.

And he shipped them to so called 'sanctuary cities"? You know, places that don't have thousands of them coming in every month? For shame that those places would actually have to ABIDE by what they said they were.

Sorry Arch... That's not a viable argument or defense.

DESANTIS is an elected official in a country governed by the rule of law. Saying he did something illegal because someone else did, doesn't hold any mustard. Period.

Only in a few peoples minds does breaking the law not apply to 1 person, but it does to another person.

Does it bother you that people expect more from their elected officials than they do from people who entered this country illegally? Or is that an excuse why we shouldn't?

Did DeSantis actually break the law? I know there was a bunch of consternation from the usual outlets, but was the law actually broken? I can't find any reference to what law was broken.

If a criminal breaks the law is it okay for the policemantrying to apprehend him to break the law?

He directed the rounding up of known illegal aliens and bussed them across state lines to be dropped off in other cities. I'm not sure if there was any accounting for said illegal aliens once they arrived at their destination. I would hope there's a law somewhere on the books that he would've had to cross because the situation is too ridiculous for it to be otherwise.

Otherwise, no... I'm not aware of any law.

So, illegals moving to your state is fine with some on here, BUT, shipping those illegals to cities that call themselves sanctuary cities is............bad?

Those cities said "Hey, we can't handle all of these illegals. yes, we said we'd take them, but we didn't expect them to actually COME here. We can't handle them. YOU keep them."

It's ridiculous on every level, other than a dem's level.

Not according to my thinking it isn't. The police are hired and trained to uphold the law. They are held to the same standard as the rest of us are. The only difference is they actually take an oath to uphold the law.

In our society there is supposed to be a difference between law breakers and those that uphold the law. If there isn't what's the difference between the two?

I think the same holds true for our elected officials. They made the decision to be a public official and have the public's trust placed in them.

In the example of both politicians and the police both have decided on their own without being forced, to place themselves in a position of public trust. They above all should be held to a higher standard. If they're not willing to do that they should find a different profession.

There's dems and then there's dims.

I think it had to do with misappropriation of funds, IIRC.

Maybe you simply forgot how DeSantis got those immigrants. Maybe you forgot that he actually sent people to Arizona and Texas to recruit migrants by lying to them so he could send them north. That's nothing but a pure political stunt but maybe you think that is okay too. To lie to people and use them as pawns in a political game?.................

Florida Governor’s Controversial “Migrant Relocation” Program Targets Arizona

Border nonprofits say contractor, My Bright Horizon, left brochures, but didn’t say it was part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’s anti-immigrant "relocation" initiative.

Alejandra Martinez, director of the Crossroads Mission in Nogales, didn’t think much about the two men who arrived last week offering brochures about a program called My Bright Horizon, which offers “free relocation support” and transportation for migrants in the United States. “I was busy,” she said, working at the nonprofit’s homeless shelter. “They said they could help migrants get to their final destinations. And that they’d be in touch and send us more brochures in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole. So, I put some of the brochures out at our shelter.”

Mohammad Abdollahi, who works for another Nogales nonprofit, said he was suspicious, however, when the two men approached him last week and said they were offering free transportation, and lodging to migrants. “I asked them where their funding came from. They told me they didn’t know,” he said. “They said they were based out of Tucson.”

The My Bright Horizon brochure features a smiling couple holding what look like dark blue U.S. passports. An 800 number appears on the back, along with a customer-care website and email address. But there’s a tell: the brochure cites Florida law. My Bright Horizon, it turns out, is not a new Arizona nonprofit trying to help asylum seekers who have been processed by Border Patrol. It is, rather, the latest phase of Florida governor Ron DeSantis’s controversial flight program to transport migrants into Democratic-led states, an effort that elected officials and immigrant rights groups have called a “cruel political stunt.”

In February 2023, Florida’s Republican-majority state legislature approved $10 million for the expansion of DeSantis’s migrant-flight program, which would allow him to transport people anywhere in the United States. Since the so-called Illegal Alien Transport Program began in 2022, when DeSantis made it a political priority in his slate of anti-immigrant initiatives, criminal charges and complaints have piled up against the program in states including California and Texas. The brochures in Nogales appear to be the first time that DeSantis’s controversial program has been documented in Arizona.

In June 2023, the sheriff of Bexar County filed criminal charges of unlawful restraint after 49 migrants said they were tricked into flying from a shelter in San Antonio, Texas, to Martha’s Vineyard, in Massachusetts. California’s governor Gavin Newsom threatened to file kidnapping charges against DeSantis after several migrants were flown by private jets from El Paso, Texas, and New Mexico, and left at the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, the state’s capital, without prior notice. “They’re human beings used as pawns for a guy’s political advancement. That’s pretty sad and pathetic,” Newsom told NBC News.

DeSantis defended the Florida-funded flights to California, saying, “These sanctuary jurisdictions are part of the reason we have this problem—because they have endorsed and agitated for these types of open border policies,” according to CBS News.

“This is the first I’m hearing about these brochures,” said Sobeira Castro, director of Santa Cruz County’s Emergency Management office, who organizes transport for asylum seekers already processed by Border Patrol. Castro said she was unaware of My Bright Horizon touting its services in Nogales to provide “free” and “voluntary” air and bus transport to migrants. “It has nothing to do with us and the local government,” she said. “But I can tell you it sounds very fishy to me.”

In 2023, DeSantis and his allied legislators placed the program under the direction of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, which, after a bidding process, chose three contractors in June. The program’s services and financial amounts are detailed in public records, which were released to the media and public watchdog groups but are heavily redacted. They provide little information about the total costs of contractors’ services.

My Bright Horizon is a subsidiary of Access Restoration Services, based in Conroe, Texas. The other two vendors are GardaWorld and Vertol Systems; the latter has already been paid more than $1.5 million for flights to Martha’s Vineyard. According to a lawsuit, and criminal charges filed by the Bexar County sheriff, asylum seekers were recruited under false pretenses in an operation organized by Perla Huerta, a former U.S. Army counterintelligence officer. The operation drew further scrutiny after it was discovered that Vertol Systems had close political ties to DeSantis.

It’s unclear how much Access Restoration Systems, which is part of a larger Canadian company called Global Emergency Management, is being paid for the contract. But ARS’s proposal mentions $150 an hour during the development phase of its services. In an email, an ARS spokesperson directed all media queries to Florida’s Division of Emergency Management. But the division did not respond to requests for comment. A call to the My Bright Horizon’s 800 number was answered by an operator from a third-party answering service who said someone from the organization would call back shortly, but no one ever did. In the Q&A section of the program’s Request for Proposal, vendors are said to be responsible for recruiting people to participate in the flights. “Division anticipates this contract to be ‘turnkey,’” it reads, “which means vendors will locate and identify, vet and verify individuals for program eligibility and transport.”

The Q&A mentions states where people might be relocated, including New York, California, and Georgia.

My Bright Horizon might have a tough time finding enough people to fill a flight. In June, President Biden issued an executive order further restricting asylum access. And due to enforcement in Mexico, the asylum restrictions, and other factors, arrivals at the border have sharply declined, including in Nogales. Border Patrol encounters in theTucson sector are one-third of what they were a year ago.

Castro said her city is seeing very few migrants other than people who have gone through the CBP One program. “Right now, Border Patrol is deporting maybe 98 percent of the people who try to cross,” she said. “And the ones that are being released, they have a sponsor, and they are able to leave.”

After learning that My Bright Horizon was part of DeSantis’s controversial program, Martinez said she would remove the brochures from the shelter. “We don’t work with that many migrants,” she said. “But I don’t want to be referring anyone, and instead of helping them out, especially if they’re migrants, we could be actually hurting them. Because they don’t know what’s going on here. They don’t know the law, and everything is new to them.”

Abdollahi added, “It’s pretty crazy that they’re using Florida taxpayer money to do this, especially in Nogales. Nogales is one of the safest cities in the United States. This whole thing is just manufactured.”

https://www.theborderchronicle.com/p/florida-governors-controversial-migrant

So do you think it's still okay for a state governor to fund going to outside states that he has no jurisdiction over, lie to people in order to get them to volunteer to be flown to other states? And the taxpayers of his own state are paying for that? Please tell me you haven't jumped that far into the fire.

Why don't YOU answer a question: Do you think it's fair for the taxpayers of this country to pay for illegals being here?

Do you think it's "fair" for cities that have no money in the game to call themselves 'sanctuary cities", but then cry foul when they get the illegals?

Personally I want my elected officials to uphold and live within the laws no matter how unconvinient. Also... Best of my knowledge Delaware and Martha's Vineyard aren't sanctuary cities.

And Florida isn't a sanctuary state. As well as Texas, and Arizona.

What's your point? NYC, Chicago - "sanctuary cities", right up until the illegals show up there? Then it's "we can't afford this". Yet, Florida somehow can? Texas can? Arizona can?

Come on man, you're smarter than this. If the gov. of florida was a dem, you wouldn't have a problem with it.

Anyway, this whole conversation reminds of : Biden is old and senile, from one side. And the other side saying "No, he's not. He's fine." Getting told by the media "he's fine, he has a speech impediment", getting told by some on here "he's fine."

Biden drops out because he's senile.

Next step by the dems? Trump is old, and senile. And fat. (when did body shaming become acceptable again? Oh, when it's a republican I guess. And age shaming as well.)

That works both ways. You had many Republicans saying Biden is old and senile while thinking Trump is just fine. They are both old and senile, clearly.

I could argue that. But, were the r's correct about biden? Uh, yes.

What we had was dem's saying biden was fine. It wasn't until biden dropped out that age mattered, for the dem's.

I didn't say FL, AZ or TX were sanctuary anything .... you did say (implied) DeSantis shipped the illegals to Sanctuary sites ... which clearly isn't the case.

Believing that elected officials can choose to ignore the law of the land (when we are supposed to be a Nation of Laws) when it suits them - no matter what the reason - is beyond dangerous and would essentially lead to chaos. Next you'll also be advocating for Secession in the United States.

I don't find any overwhelming need to be fair to Peen. He was the guy that watched as Bush ran our economy into the Ground in 2006, 2007 and then called it Obama's economy within a month of Jan 20. As if Obama had caused it. So no, I don't feel a need to be fair with Peen,

It's really simple to me, FEMA was set up to handle things.. Not by Coming in and taking over, (although when needed, they have) but by coming in as support for local and state authorities. Peen doesn't seem to understand that very simple fact.

So I ask again, if not FEMA, who?

You could argue anything, but it doesn't make you right.

Most of the "Dems" I saw on this board, save for a couple of those on the fringe (and we see plenty of fringe on both sides around here) agreed that Biden was not there mentally, but that he still made a better option than Trump. If you're talking about "Dems" being the powers that be in the party, sure, publicly they said he was fine. What else would they say? But it became obvious when Pelosi went behind the scenes that they knew he wasn't.

In fact, most of the Dems, moderates, Never-Trumpers, etc. that I see on this board who are voting for Harris consider her to be an empty suit, more or less. But again, they see this election as avoiding calamity.

When you remove Biden as the lightning rod senile guy out of the picture, it became glaringly obvious, just from looking at Trump's recent speeches that he is losing it. Clem brought up a good point. Look at him now vs 2016. It's the same as 2012 Biden vs 2020 Biden. It's bad.

On top of that, if we are going to ignore bad things about respective candidates, I would point back to the conversation I had with mgh on another thread. I've heard a LOT more criticism of Harris/Biden from those voting for her while there is crickets from those voting for Trump whenever he inevitably does or says something that is alarming, and that is on top of the things he ALREADY DID when he was president last time. It's a recurring theme. No amount of actual irrefutable evidence is enough to overcome the cognitive dissonance that is prevalent. It's disheartening, honestly.

As of right now, it looks like your candidate will win. I guess we'll see how that goes. Buckle up...

God I hate fake tough guys so much.

They always pick the dumbest crap to actually show action on, as well.

This guy didn’t go attack some drug cartel cause he’s worried about drugs.

He didn’t raid a trap house cause he’s worried about thugs.

He didn’t go storm a Hollywood studio worried about children being abused.

Nope, this clown decided to target aid workers during one of the worst post-storm disasters since Katrina, in the name of patriotism.

This what deflection looks like. Instead of answering a question they answer it with another question. I didn't expect an honest, straight forward answer to begin with and here's the evidence.

Have you watched any trump rallies lately? This is just like Republicans though. "You're old demented guy has mental decline and isn't fit to be president! Our old demented guy is fine!"

And trump is still running and it doesn't matter to republicans. Pot meet kettle. But somehow you think it's better that Republicans are sticking with their mistake. Murica!

Here is what a Q&A Town hall looks like...........

It did matter to the dems. Democrat leaders had him step down for the better good. But republicans forcing an obvious deeply demented man, not to mention a convicted felon, to step aside is unacceptable. Pfft Goper’s. All butt hurt because Kamala is doing better than Joe. Boohoo.

No... where did I say that? You even quoted the conversation and nobody said anything to that effect.


Yes.

Look, I'm not proud of the fact that I laughed at the NYC and Chicago mayors losing their mind and declaring emergencies after only a couple months of the busses showing up. It's dehumanizing to those being used as political props. Yes, they are illegals and shouldn't be here... but they are still human beings and using them like that was wrong.