U.S. government emergency workers responding to damage from Hurricane Helen in North Carolina were redeployed over the weekend amid concerns that “armed militias” could threaten their safety.
In an email obtained by The Washington Post, U.S. Forest Service officials said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) had “instructed all federal response agencies in Rutherford County, North Carolina, to immediately stand down and evacuate the county.” “We have advised that you do so,” he said in a warning message.
The message said National Guard soldiers “encountered two armed militia trucks and said they were out hunting FEMA.”
Rutherford County in the Appalachian Mountains includes the mountain towns of Rutherfordton, Forest City, and Chimney Rock, which were severely damaged by the Helen Flood, with homes washed away and roads washed away. Dozens of people died.
The politicization of the response to Helen and later Milton provided recruiting opportunities for white supremacist groups who flocked to disaster areas that government emergency services had difficulty reaching as part of their recruitment and public relations efforts. Ta.
Fema has also been a target of baseless anti-government conspiracy theorists, particularly on the far right in the United States, for more than a decade.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that white supremacist groups, including the Patriot Front, have joined recovery efforts in Florida and the Carolinas. An X post from Western North Carolina said: “We at the Patriot Front are here to support our local communities…Our politicians can quibble and quickly switch to talking about Israel, but we “It’s really about supporting the community and being American.” “
According to a 2020 Guardian report, people in Corbett, Oregon, were stopped at armed civilian checkpoints and asked to identify themselves during the wildfires, highlighting how vigilante groups and law enforcement interacted with each other. This has sparked a debate about what action should be taken.
According to the Washington Post, the Forest Service email has been confirmed to be authentic and the incident management team has been “notified and is coordinating the evacuation of all assigned personnel in the county.” Ta.
Forest Service officials said Helen responders were moved to a “safe area” and some emergency response operations in the area were suspended Saturday and resumed a day later.
Fema reportedly stopped going door-to-door in response to threats and instead operated from fixed locations. “For the safety of our dedicated staff and the disaster survivors we support, Fema has made several operational adjustments,” an anonymous source told the Post.
In the weeks since Helen struck the region, U.S. government officials have been spreading false rumors, including conspiracy theories, that the hurricane was manipulated by the government and part of an effort to force people off their land to make way for a lithium mining project. I have been fighting against information.
Federal officials coordinating the response to Helen have faced anti-Semitic attacks alongside anti-government conspiracy theories, according to a report by the nonprofit Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD).
Reba Duncan, a former Forest Service employee in the area, said tensions between residents and government emergency workers led to harassment, with some telling them “the government doesn’t want you here.” There were also people there.
“This is terrible because so many people who need assistance are being denied assistance because they believe what people are saying about Fema and the government,” Duncan told the Post. told. “And it’s sad because they’re probably the ones who need help the most.”
Tensions arose as aid groups flooded into areas of western North Carolina. Residents reportedly threatened Fema personnel who were stationed in a trailer next to a supply distribution center run by the Cajun Naval Relief Organization and a Baptist church. Local police confirmed the incident.
Anti-government sentiment and disinformation have spread far beyond Appalachia, and Republican candidate Donald Trump has been accused of repeating disinformation for political gain. Some Republicans have even claimed that the U.S. government can control the weather, sparking widespread condemnation, especially from local Republican officials.
In remarks to a church congregation in North Carolina on Sunday, Vice President Kamala Harris issued a veiled condemnation of the phenomenon.
“There are people who are not acting in the spirit of the community. I’m talking about literally not telling the truth and telling lies about people who are working hard to help people in need. These are the people who spread disinformation when truth and facts are needed.
“The problem is that people are being led to believe they can’t be trusted, making it harder to get life-saving information,” Harris added. And that’s all the pain. Because those in need are somehow made to believe that forces are working against them in such a way that they do not ask for help. ”
