Threats prompt FEMA to halt aid in North Carolina

This weekend, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) temporarily suspended assistance in certain regions of North Carolina due to allegations that the agency's personnel were the targets of threats.

The personnel were assisting in the recovery efforts following Hurricane Helene. FEMA personnel in North Carolina's "mountain region" were the target of threats, according to Ashe County Sheriff Phil Howell in a statement released on Sunday, as The Hill reported.

Consequently, FEMA implemented precautionary measures and temporarily suspended aid operations at other FEMA sites. According to Howell, the threats did not target Ashe County or its neighboring counties.

“Out of an abundance of caution, they have paused their process as they are assessing the threats,” Howell said in a Facebook post Sunday morning.

Local Authorities

On Sunday, Ashe County Emergency Management announced that FEMA staff would not be accepting applications in a few towns. They also stated, “It is our understanding that all FEMA reps in NC were stood down due to threats occurring in some counties,” noting “we have not received any official correspondence on this issue from FEMA.”

According to the sheriff's office, the FEMA locations in Ashe will operate during their regular business hours on Monday.

The Washington Post on reported Sunday in an email from a federal official notifying other federal agencies that “FEMA has advised all federal responders Rutherford County, N.C., 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.’”

Possible Presidential Impact

North Carolina is a critical area for former President Donald Trump, who will need to secure the recently devestated state on his path to 270.

This is an issue of concern considering Trump's recent comments about FEMA, and their inadequate response to the storm-ravaged state of North Carolina. The mainstream media has already taken up the banner, asserting that Trump is "hurting FEMA" in a state crushed under the burden of their recent tragedy.

With the president facing an already close race in the state, without the state, the former president would need to win two of three Blue Wall states without NC.

The campaign against the former president will likely get even more intense, if the media takes the path they're known to take, pushing any reason to find fault with Trump to boost his opposition.