Tag: north carolina

Trump-Appointed Judge Sides Against RNC in Voter Roll Cleanup, Keeps 225,000 Potentially Ineligible Voters on North Carolina Rolls Amid Alleged Election Law Violations

A federal judge has partially dismissed the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) attempt to challenge the eligibility of 225,000 North Carolina voters.

The lawsuit, spearheaded by the RNC and North Carolina Republican Party, accused the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) of failing to comply with the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).

The suit centers on claims that the NCSBE allowed over 225,000 people to register but failed to collect legally required identification information from applicants, such as driver’s license numbers or Social Security digits, on registration forms before processing.

According to the plaintiffs, this oversight could lead to ineligible individuals, including non-citizens, appearing on the voter rolls, potentially diluting lawful votes and undermining public trust.

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The Panic Over an Imaginary Militia ‘Hunting FEMA’ Did More Damage Than the Actual Threat

It was a bone-chilling report. As North Carolinians reeled from the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) suddenly ordered emergency workers “to stand down and evacuate” Rutherford County due to reports of “trucks of armed militias saying they were out hunting FEMA,” The Washington Post reported on October 13, based on an email obtained from the U.S. Forest Service.

The threat turned out to be something less serious. On October 14, the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of one man, William Jacob Parsons, for making a “comment about possibly harming FEMA employees” while armed with an assault rifle. Law enforcement concluded that “Parsons acted alone and there was no truck loads of militia,” according to a statement quoted in The Washington Post.

Parsons told the BBC that he was not a member of any militia, he had not threatened any federal officials, and he was there to help distribute supplies to hurricane victims.

Every time America suffers a natural disaster, it seems, there’s serious anxiety about social collapse and mass violence. And the media often runs with the most fantastical version, as journalists did with reports of violence at the Superdome refugee center in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

These rumors by themselves can do serious damage. Louisiana National Guard Maj. Ed Bush told Reason in 2005 that “perhaps FEMA would have been quicker in if we hadn’t heard all these urban myths about shootings and rapes and deaths and killing and bodies everywhere.” Last week, relief efforts in Rutherford County and nearby Ashe County were paused due to the alleged militia threat.

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FEMA Says It Won’t Help in North Carolina Because It Feels Threatened By Locals.

The Biden-Harris Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) says it has temporarily suspended certain Hurricane Helene relief operations in several North Carolina communities due to perceived threats against federal aid workers. According to FEMA, federal disaster relief operations were halted in Rutherford County after the agency received reports from the National Guard that an “armed militia” was allegedly threatening relief workers.

“For the safety of our dedicated staff and the disaster survivors we are helping, FEMA has made some operational adjustments,” an agency spokesman said in a statement on Monday. They added: “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.”

In addition to suspending operations in Rutherford County, several other localities near the North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee border claim they had to halt relief work due to threats from locals. According to Ashe County Sheriff Phil Howell, several relief centers where victims of Hurricane Helene could apply in person for assistance were closed “due to threats occurring in some counties.” No specific details regarding the type or seriousness of the “threats” were provided. Sheriff Howell stressed that residents impacted by the storm should “stay calm and steady during our recovery, help folks, and please don’t stir the pot.”

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Private helicopters deliver more than 500,000 pounds of aid, supplies to western North Carolina

A volunteer group called Savage Operations Center just delivered over 500,000 pounds of supplies to the devastated areas of western North Carolina via a fleet of private helicopters.

Organized by Adam Smith, the Savage Operations Center is utilizing dozens of private helicopters to deliver much-needed aid to the thousands of people who are still trapped in the Appalachian Mountains following Hurricane Helene.

“The people of Swannanoa, Bat Cave, and Chimney Rock are going to be here, and they’ll still be rebuilding their lives and trying to rebuild their homes and trying to figure out what’s next,” Smith commented.

“There’s homes that are washed out; people have lost their lives. There’s a lot of people left with nothing. There’s a lot of displaced people. The big challenge now, moving forward: It’s not so much the rescue but it’s how do we find a place for the displaced families?”

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Man accused of threatening FEMA workers in western North Carolina speaks out

Recovery efforts in western North Carolina are being disrupted by safety concerns following threats against federal responders, including FEMA workers. While local officials confirm that no threats originated in some counties, FEMA has made operational changes across the region out of caution.

FEMA teams continue to help residents register for disaster assistance, but some personnel have been moved to secure locations rather than conducting door-to-door outreach. This change follows the recent arrest of William Jacob Parsons, 44, of Bostic, who was charged with making threats against FEMA employees in the Lake Lure and Chimney Rock areas. Deputies found Parsons armed with a handgun and a rifle.

The threats came after Parsons posted a message on Facebook calling for people to “overtake” the FEMA site in Lake Lure based on what he says were social media reports that FEMA was withholding supplies from hurricane survivors.

“We the people are sick and tired of the BS. We the people are seeking volunteers to join us and overtake the FEMA site in Lake Lure and send the products up the mountains this Saturday. We the people are done playing games. It’s time to show who we are and what we believe. They want to screw our citizens. Now, we return the favor,” Parsons said.

When asked about his post, Parsons explained that he believed FEMA was failing to help residents in need.

“I viewed it as if our people are sitting here on American soil, and they’re refusing to aid our people,” he said. “So we were going to go up there and forcefully remove that fence.”

Upon arriving at Lake Lure, however, Parsons said he realized the situation was different than he had imagined.

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National Guard’s report of ‘armed militia,’ prompts the relocation of North Carolina hurricane recovery officials

Federal emergency response personnel on Saturday had employees operating in hard-hit Rutherford County, N.C., stop working and move to a different area because of concerns over “armed militia” threatening government workers in the region, according to an email sent to federal agencies helping with response in the state.

Around 1 p.m. Saturday, an official with the U.S. Forest Service, which is supporting recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene along with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, sent an urgent message to numerous federal agencies warning that “FEMA has advised all federal responders Rutherford County, NC, to stand down and evacuate the county immediately. The message stated that National Guard troops ‘had come across x2 trucks of armed militia saying there 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.

Two federal officials confirmed the authenticity of the email, though it was unclear whether the quoted threat was seen as credible. The National Guard referred questions to FEMA when asked about the incident. One Forest Service official coordinating the Helene recovery said responders moved to a “safe area” and at least some work in that 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.

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 decimated 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, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, 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.

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NC Aircraft In Rotor Wash Incident Belonged To NC National Guard – Crew Temporarily Grounded

CDM reported on the recent incident in North Carolina where a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter damaged the civilian aid collection site in the NC Hurricane Helene impact area.

Initial reports on X were the aircraft belonged to the CT National Guard.

We contacted the CT National Guard yesterday and obtained an interim statement. North Carolina released the statement below today.

In a separate incident, a U.S. Army Chinook sent several civilians to the hospital when trying to land.

As a former USAF helicopter pilot and former US Army Guard medivac company officer, I can attest that this incident was unacceptable. This is a leadership and training issue. Obviously these pilots had no situational awareness.

Crews used to be trained intensely to evaluate landing sites from a variety of perspectives before attempting to land.

Besides the physical damage to the civilian volunteers, the reputational damage to the National Guard is immense.

There needs to be accountability, with the crew, and leadership.

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‘Redneck Air Force’ Reportedly Steps Up After FEMA’s Lackluster Response to Helene

Turns out that even in the face of unmitigated disaster and tragedy, good men can still step up — and with some humor in their hearts, as well.

As the American southeast continues to grapple with the debilitating aftermath of Hurricane Helene, many eyes have turned to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to see how the government organization would respond to this catastrophe.

Helene’s damage was a multi-state affair, starting in Florida and moving up the east coast through Georgia and Tennessee, ending up in North Carolina.

And it’s in the Tar Heel State that this story of good men with a sense of humor originates.

Asheville, North Carolina, continues to grapple with the cataclysmic fallout from Helene, with much of the city still looking like a ravaged war zone, weeks after the devastating storm hit.

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Grieving North Carolina families forced to bury dead in backyards as they blast FEMA for hurricane ‘cover up’

Grieving families in North Carolina have been forced to bury their dead in their backyards – and are accusing authorities of downplaying the damage caused by Hurricane Helene.

The official death toll rose to 227 over the weekend – half of whom were from North Carolina – but state and federal officials told The Spectator that this number is woefully inaccurate. 

Many bodies haven’t even been recovered amid debris and flooding. There are also piles of deceased people who have yet to be identified. They are being transported all over the state in hopes of finding open morgue space.

‘According to folks on the ground – fire, medical, law enforcement officials – they’re way underreporting the numbers. All the morgues are full and they’ve hauled a ton [of bodies] to Greensboro,’ the state official said. ‘People are starting to bury them in their yards because they have no place to put them.’

One individual who was in Asheville when Helene hit told The Spectator: ‘It’s so much worse than they’re saying…I think there’s a massive cover-up.’

The destruction from Helene, and the immense multi-state death toll, comes just days before Category 5 Hurricane Milton is set to barrel into Florida’s coastline.  

Helene made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida at night on September 26 before laying waste to Georgia and the Carolinas with record storm surges and tornados.

North Carolina alone had six confirmed tornados on the morning of September 27, two days before 500 members of state’s national guard were deployed to help with rescue efforts.

Locals say they are ‘pissed’ at General Major Todd Hunt, director of the North Carolina National Guard, for waiting a whole 48 hours to get boots on the ground.

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FEMA abandons devastated NC town residents because it can’t drive around ‘Road Closed’ sign: ‘Nobody’s been bringing in supplies except civilians’

Residents of a tiny North Carolina town that was almost totally destroyed by Hurricane Helene have been fending for themselves after FEMA told them that a “Road Closed” sign is an insurmountable obstacle for the agency to navigate.

“FEMA called me and told me they wanted to inspect my house, then called me back to say they couldn’t drive around the ‘Road Closed’ sign. They weren’t allowed,” local Chelsea Atkins, 38, told The Post.

“You can drive it by car for sure, it’s not that bad, you just have to drive around the ‘Road Closed’ sign. I explained that to them. They said they couldn’t,” she said, recounting her maddening exchange with the embattled federal agency.

Left to fend for themselves, Bat Cave residents banded together — opening the roads and starting the arduous work of cleanup and recovery. Residents told The Post that they don’t need FEMA now — and at this point, they don’t even want the disaster relief agency to come.

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