FEMA resumes door-to-door visits in North Carolina after threats tied to disinformation

[October 16, 2024]  By MAKIYA SEMINERA and SARAH BRUMFIELD

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — 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 Hurricane 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 bad information.

“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 it received initial reports that a “truckload of militia” was involved in the threat, but further investigation determined 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.

People gather at a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at A.C. Reynolds High School in Asheville, N.C.,, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)

Asked what might be fueling 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.

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.

Helene decimated remote towns throughout Appalachia, 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.

Terrie Daughtry, a volunteer handling therapy dogs Tuesday at a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center in Asheville, said threats and misinformation — including the militia rumors — made her feel unsafe for the first time in several trips to volunteer at disaster sites.

“I’m not coming to risk my life with it all, to be shot or hurt or trampled because of lunacy,” said Daughtry, who volunteers with Therapy Dogs International. She said she previously traveled to help in the aftermath of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, floods in Virginia and tornadoes in Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama.

She and another volunteer have been using their therapy dogs to calm people waiting in line to make FEMA claims. They hand out candy, let people pet the dogs and talk to people about their experiences.

Despite the extra stress from the “absolutely ridiculous” threats and misinformation, Daughtry said she’s seen some amazing moments of human spirit. At one point on Monday, someone in line started playing a guitar and singing about having no water, she said. Eventually, the whole line sang along.

“These are special people. They’re singing in horrible adversity,” she said. “It made me tear up being there and it’s making me tear up now.”

___ Brumfield reported from Baltimore.

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