LAKE LURE, N.C. — Federal emergency response personnel directed employees operating Saturday in hard-hit Rutherford County, N.C., to stop working and relocate due to concerns over “armed militia” threatening government workers in the region. That same day, law enforcement officials confirmed Monday, the sheriff’s office arrested an armed suspect for making such threats.

On Monday, the Rutherford County sheriff’s office confirmed in a statement that it had arrested William Jacob Parsons, 44, of Bostic, N.C., for making threats against Federal Emergency Management Agency employees. The office concluded that the suspect had acted alone and that there were not “truck loads of militia” targeting relief workers, it added.

Around 1 p.m. Saturday, an official with the U.S. Forest Service, which is supporting recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene along with FEMA, sent an urgent message to numerous federal agencies warning that “FEMA has advised all federal responders Rutherford County, N.C., to stand down and evacuate the county immediately. The message, obtained by The Washington Post, stated that National Guard troops ‘had come across … trucks of armed militia saying they were out hunting FEMA.’ ”

“The IMTs [incident management teams] have been notified and are coordinating the evacuation of all assigned personnel in that county,” the email added.

The Rutherford County sheriff’s office confirmed in a statement that the county’s communications center had received a call Saturday shortly before 1 p.m. warning that “a white male had an assault rifle and made the comment about possibly harming FEMA employees working after the disaster of Hurricane Helene in the Lake Lure and Chimney Rock area.”

After learning of the call, deputies in the sheriff’s office alerted other law enforcement agencies and others helping with relief efforts and went to where the threat was made, the statement said, and identified the color and type of vehicle that the suspect was driving. After getting additional information, the sheriff’s office identified the suspect as Parsons, arrested him later Saturday and charged him with “Going Armed to the Terror of the Public,” according to the statement. He was armed with a handgun and a rifle, it added.

While the initial report said there was “a truckload of militia that was involved,” the statement said, authorities said that they concluded “it was determined that Parsons acted alone and there was no truck loads of militia going to Lake Lure.”

One Forest Service official coordinating the Helene recovery said responders moved to a “safe area” and that at least some work in the area – which included clearing trees off dozens of damaged and blocked roads to help search-and-rescue crews, as well as groups delivering supplies – was paused.

By Sunday afternoon, personnel were back in place, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The setback is one of the latest examples of growing concerns about safety and security in western North Carolina, where many towns were almost wiped off the map after the historic hurricane made landfall two weeks ago. In the weeks since, misinformation and rumors have made the recovery more difficult, targeting multiple federal agencies operating as part of the recovery. Federal officials such as the secretary for the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA’s director of public affairs have been the target of antisemitic attacks.

Some of the claims have been amplified by former president Donald Trump as he seeks to return to the White House. Trump alleged, without evidence, that the federal government was “going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas” and repeatedly claimed that FEMA was diverting disaster-relief money for migrants. Both administration officials and other Republicans have refuted the allegation, noting that money for hurricane recovery and aid for migrants sit in different agency accounts and cannot be transferred to one another.

THREATS MADE

The threats were made at a gas station on Route 9 in neighboring Polk County, prompting an attendant there to share concerns with active-duty U.S. soldiers who visited, said Capt. Jamie Keever, a spokesman with the Rutherford County sheriff’s office. The Army reported the incident to law enforcement authorities, who arrested the man Saturday night.

Keever said while there have been unconfirmed reports of “truckloads of militia men” in the area, the details in this case do not bear that out. “This was a lone individual,” Keever said. “We’re trying to get the word out about that.”

Col. Beth Smith, an Army spokeswoman, declined to provide details about what the soldiers heard but said that no Army personnel had been threatened. She referred additional questions to FEMA.

CENTER OF TENSION

Chimney Rock, in Rutherford County, has become one of the centers of tension and conflict after a rumor spread on social media that government officials planned to seize the devastated village and bulldoze bodies under the rubble. Authorities and news outlets debunked the assertion, but people still took to social media imploring militias to go after FEMA.

A person familiar with FEMA operations said the agency was working out of an abundance of caution and its teams were operating at fixed locations and secure areas instead of the usual practice of going door to door.

“FEMA continues to support communities impacted by Helene and help survivors apply for assistance,” the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive discussions. “For the safety of our dedicated staff and the disaster survivors we are helping, FEMA has made some operational adjustments.”

The heightening tension has resulted in residents harassing federal employees, said Riva Duncan, a former Forest Service official who lives in Asheville.

Duncan, who is also a representative with the Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, said people have been yelling, “We don’t want your help here,” at federal employees delivering aid or showing up to do repairs.

One Forest Service employee, she said, was pulling into a gas station when someone yelled at him to leave, saying, “We don’t want the government here.”

“It’s terrible because a lot of these folks who need assistance are refusing it because they believe the stuff people are saying about FEMA and the government,” Duncan said. “And it’s sad because they are probably the ones who need the help the most.”

In a text message shared with The Washington Post, a woman said that her child, a Forest Service crew member from California, was one of those who temporarily left the county.

Earlier Saturday, a resident came to a supplies distribution center, which the Cajun Navy, a disaster response group has been helping locals run threatened FEMA personnel who were also stationed there in a trailer, according to two Cajun Navy volunteers. Lake Lure Police and Rutherford County Sheriff’s offices confirmed the incident.

Sgt. Herbie Martin with the Spindale Police Department, located about 25 miles outside Lake Lure, was circling the parking lot Sunday afternoon. He also confirmed the incident, saying that he hopes “FEMA would come back.”

REVERBERATIONS SPREAD

On Sunday morning, Ashe County Sheriff B. Phil Howell posted on Facebook about the challenges FEMA faces.

“Recently in the mountain region, there have been threats made against them,” he wrote. “This has not happened in Ashe County or the surrounding counties. Out of an abundance of caution, they have paused their process as they are assessing the threats.”

Howell asked residents to “help folks and please don’t stir the pot.”

A FEMA team in Barnardsville left a site earlier than scheduled Saturday in the midst of helping people complete FEMA applications, according to volunteer Chloe Feinbaum.

“My neighbor was literally about to click the last button to finish her application,” she said. “The person who was helping her asked, ‘Can we please just wait five more minutes? I want to finish helping this woman.’”

A Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said the office had not received any reports of threats to FEMA officials.

A Forest Service employee who has been on the ground in McDowell County said that team leaders made the decision Sunday morning to stop them from going into the field that day “out of an abundance of caution” due to the threat to the west of them.

The individual, who spoke on the condition of anonymity given the situation, said he and his crew have been clearing roads. Standing down was “demoralizing” and “broke the rhythm” of their work, he said.

It’s been about a 51-49 split of residents being “grateful to see us versus ‘go home feds,’ ” he said. “We were aware of the threats made against FEMA in particular, but federal responders in general.”