FEMA threat arrest: William Parsons accused and arrested for threatening to harm Hurricane Helene relief workers [Video]

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A North Carolina man was arrested for allegedly threatening the lives of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employees who were helping Hurricane Helene victims.

William Parsons, 44, faces a criminal charge of “going armed to the terror of the public.”

Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office said it received a call Saturday about a man with an assault rifle threatening to harm FEMA employees in the Lake Lure and Chimney Rock area. The threat was reportedly made at a gas station in town and relayed to soldiers in the area who then called the sheriff’s office to report the threat.

Deputies responded to the report and ultimately gathered enough evidence to arrest Parsons for making the threat. Parsons was booked but later released on a $10,000 bond.

The threat itself caused FEMA to make adjustments to how workers carried out their tasks over the weekend.

A FEMA spokesperson told ABC News that the agency continues to …