Rutherford County man arrested for FEMA threats; sheriff says ‘no armed militia’

Federal emergency response personnel working in Helene-devastated areas of Rutherford County were subject to threats over the weekend, resulting in a halt to some aid operations over a potential “armed militia” and the arrest of an armed Forest City man, officials said.

Just before 1 p.m. on Oct. 12, the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office received a call from U.S. Army soldiers at a gas station in Polk County after speaking with a gas station attendant, according to Capt. Jamie Keever. The attendant had relayed a threat made by a customer toward FEMA employees helping in the Lake Lure and Chimney Rock area, and the sheriff’s office was called to investigate.

The customer, identified as William Jacob Parsons, 44, had made a “vague threat” that he was going to “go mess up some FEMA personnel,” Keever told the Citizen Times Oct. 14. Parsons was armed with an AR style rifle and two handguns, according to his arrest warrant.

Read more: Asheville Citizen Times