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FEMA resumes door-to-door visits in North Carolina after threats tied to disinformation

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FEMA resumes door-to-door visits in North Carolina after threats tied to disinformation
News

News

FEMA resumes door-to-door visits in North Carolina after threats tied to disinformation

2024-10-16 04:34 Last Updated At:05:10

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Federal disaster personnel have resumed door-to-door visits as part of their hurricane-recovery work in North Carolina, an effort temporarily suspended amid threats that prompted officials to condemn the spread of disinformation.

Over the weekend, reports emerged that workers with the Federal Emergency Management Agency could be targeted by militia as the government responds to Hurricane Helene. A sheriff's office said Monday that one man was arrested during an investigation, but that the suspect acted alone.

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Signs are seen at a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at A.C. Reynolds High School in Asheville, N.C., Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)

Signs are seen at a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at A.C. Reynolds High School in Asheville, N.C., Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)

People gather at a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at A.C. Reynolds High School in Asheville, N.C.,, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)

People gather at a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at A.C. Reynolds High School in Asheville, N.C.,, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)

People gather at a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at A.C. Reynolds High School in Asheville, N.C.,, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)

People gather at a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at A.C. Reynolds High School in Asheville, N.C.,, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)

FEMA employee Jirau Alvaro works with Daniel Mancini, doing a report on the damage to his property on Sunday, October 6, 2024 in rural Buncombe County, near Black Mountain, N.C. (Robert Willett/The News & Observer via AP)

FEMA employee Jirau Alvaro works with Daniel Mancini, doing a report on the damage to his property on Sunday, October 6, 2024 in rural Buncombe County, near Black Mountain, N.C. (Robert Willett/The News & Observer via AP)

FEMA employee Jirau Alvaro works with Daniel Mancini, doing a report on the damage to his property on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024 in rural Buncombe County, near Black Mountain, N.C. (Robert Willett/The News & Observer via AP)

FEMA employee Jirau Alvaro works with Daniel Mancini, doing a report on the damage to his property on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024 in rural Buncombe County, near Black Mountain, N.C. (Robert Willett/The News & Observer via AP)

FEMA resumes door-to-door visits in North Carolina after threats connected to disinformation

FEMA resumes door-to-door visits in North Carolina after threats connected to disinformation

FEMA employee Jirau Alvaro works with Daniel Mancini, doing a report on the damage to his property on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024 in rural Buncombe County, near Black Mountain, N.C. (Robert Willett/The News & Observer via AP)

FEMA employee Jirau Alvaro works with Daniel Mancini, doing a report on the damage to his property on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024 in rural Buncombe County, near Black Mountain, N.C. (Robert Willett/The News & Observer via AP)

FEMA resumes door-to-door visits in North Carolina after threats connected to disinformation

FEMA resumes door-to-door visits in North Carolina after threats connected to disinformation

FEMA made operational changes to keep personnel safe “out of an abundance of caution," agency Administrator Deanne Criswell said at a briefing Tuesday. FEMA workers were back in the field Monday, accompanied by Criswell, and she said disaster-assistance teams helping survivors apply for FEMA aid as well as state and local assistance will continue to go door-to-door. She emphasized that the agency isn't going anywhere.

“The federal family has been here working side by side with the state since Day One. These are people who put their lives on hold to help those who have lost everything,” Criswell said. “So let me be clear. I take these threats seriously.”

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said he directed the state's Department of Public Safety to coordinate law enforcement assistance for FEMA and other responders. He stressed the damage that internet rumors and falsehoods were causing and said officials may never know how many people won't apply for assistance because of bad information.

“There’s still a persistent and dangerous flow of misinformation about recovery efforts in western North Carolina that can lead to threats and intimidation, breeds confusion and demoralizes storm survivors and response workers alike,” Cooper said at the briefing. “If you’re participating in spreading this stuff, stop it. Whatever your aim is, the people you are really hurting are those in western North Carolina who need help.”

The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office said it received a call Saturday about a man with an assault rifle who made a comment “about possibly harming" FEMA employees working in the hard-hit areas of Lake Lure and Chimney Rock in the North Carolina mountains. A man was charged with “going armed to the terror of the public,” a misdemeanor, and was released after posting bond.

The sheriff’s office said it received initial reports that a “truckload of militia” was involved in the threat, but further investigation determined the man acted alone.

FEMA has faced rampant disinformation about its response to Helene, which hit Florida on Sept. 26 before heading north and leaving a trail of destruction across six states.

Asked what might be fueling disinformation, Cooper said social media has become more extreme, but he also pointed to politics.

“This is happening in the middle of an election where candidates are using people’s misery to sow chaos for their own political objectives — and it’s wrong,” he said.

Former President Donald Trump and his allies have seized on the storm's aftermath to spread false information about the Biden administration’s response in the final weeks before the election. Their debunked claims include false statements that victims can only receive $750 in aid, that emergency response funds were diverted to immigrants, that people accepting federal relief money could see their land seized and that FEMA is halting trucks full of supplies.

Helene decimated remote towns throughout Appalachia, left millions without power, knocked out cellular service and killed at least 246 people. It was the deadliest hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland since Katrina in 2005.

Terrie Daughtry, a volunteer handling therapy dogs Tuesday at a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center in Asheville, said threats and misinformation — including the militia rumors — made her feel unsafe for the first time in several trips to volunteer at disaster sites.

“I’m not coming to risk my life with it all, to be shot or hurt or trampled because of lunacy,” said Daughtry, who volunteers with Therapy Dogs International. She said she previously traveled to help in the aftermath of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, floods in Virginia and tornadoes in Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama.

She and another volunteer have been using their therapy dogs to calm people waiting in line to make FEMA claims. They hand out candy, let people pet the dogs and talk to people about their experiences.

Despite the extra stress from the “absolutely ridiculous” threats and misinformation, Daughtry said she’s seen some amazing moments of human spirit. At one point on Monday, someone in line started playing a guitar and singing about having no water, she said. Eventually, the whole line sang along.

“These are special people. They’re singing in horrible adversity,” she said. “It made me tear up being there and it’s making me tear up now.”

Signs are seen at a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at A.C. Reynolds High School in Asheville, N.C., Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)

Signs are seen at a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at A.C. Reynolds High School in Asheville, N.C., Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)

People gather at a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at A.C. Reynolds High School in Asheville, N.C.,, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)

People gather at a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at A.C. Reynolds High School in Asheville, N.C.,, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)

People gather at a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at A.C. Reynolds High School in Asheville, N.C.,, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)

People gather at a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at A.C. Reynolds High School in Asheville, N.C.,, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)

FEMA employee Jirau Alvaro works with Daniel Mancini, doing a report on the damage to his property on Sunday, October 6, 2024 in rural Buncombe County, near Black Mountain, N.C. (Robert Willett/The News & Observer via AP)

FEMA employee Jirau Alvaro works with Daniel Mancini, doing a report on the damage to his property on Sunday, October 6, 2024 in rural Buncombe County, near Black Mountain, N.C. (Robert Willett/The News & Observer via AP)

FEMA employee Jirau Alvaro works with Daniel Mancini, doing a report on the damage to his property on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024 in rural Buncombe County, near Black Mountain, N.C. (Robert Willett/The News & Observer via AP)

FEMA employee Jirau Alvaro works with Daniel Mancini, doing a report on the damage to his property on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024 in rural Buncombe County, near Black Mountain, N.C. (Robert Willett/The News & Observer via AP)

FEMA resumes door-to-door visits in North Carolina after threats connected to disinformation

FEMA resumes door-to-door visits in North Carolina after threats connected to disinformation

FEMA employee Jirau Alvaro works with Daniel Mancini, doing a report on the damage to his property on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024 in rural Buncombe County, near Black Mountain, N.C. (Robert Willett/The News & Observer via AP)

FEMA employee Jirau Alvaro works with Daniel Mancini, doing a report on the damage to his property on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024 in rural Buncombe County, near Black Mountain, N.C. (Robert Willett/The News & Observer via AP)

FEMA resumes door-to-door visits in North Carolina after threats connected to disinformation

FEMA resumes door-to-door visits in North Carolina after threats connected to disinformation

The presidential campaign comes down to a final push across a handful of states on the eve of Election Day.

Kamala Harris will spend all of Monday in Pennsylvania, whose 19 electoral votes offer the largest prize among the states expected to determine the Electoral College outcome. Donald Trump plans four rallies in three states, beginning in Raleigh, North Carolina and stopping twice in Pennsylvania with events in Reading and Pittsburgh.

Follow the AP’s Election 2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

Here's the latest:

RALEIGH, N.C. — Ebony Coots is excited for Trump to win but says she’s tired of seeing all the negative political ads. Coots also feels a bit nervous — not about Trump’s chances of winning but rather what Democrats “might try to do,” she said.

In 2016, Coots cast her ballot for Hillary Clinton because of the “girl power” sentiment, which she now says was a mistake.

Wearing a shirt memorializing Corey Comperatore — the volunteer firefighter who was shot and killed at Trump’s July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania — the 48-year-old delivery driver said animosity toward police during the widespread protests against the killing of George Floyd pushed her to vote for Trump in 2020 and support him since.

Monday’s rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, was her ninth since 2022, Coots said.

If Vice President Kamala Harris wins the election, Coots summed up what she’ll do in one sentence.

“You know, actually, I might try to go to another planet,” she said.

RALEIGH, N.C. — There are plenty of empty seats at the Raleigh, North Carolina, arena where Trump is kicking off a busy last day of campaigning, with four rallies planned across three battleground states.

Trump was scheduled to take the stage at 10 a.m. at the J.S. Dorton Arena, a 5,000-seat venue with additional seating on the floor.

Trump has held events in North Carolina each of the past three days, underscoring the importance of a state he carried in both 2016 and 2020.

More people are still filing in so the arena could fill up more by the time Trump takes the stage.

It’s the election that no one could have foreseen.

Not so long ago, Donald Trump was marinating in anger at Mar-a-Lago after being impeached twice and voted out of the White House. Even some of his closest allies were looking forward to a future without the charismatic yet erratic billionaire leading the Republican Party, especially after his failed attempt to overturn an election ended in violence and shame. When Trump announced his comeback bid two years ago, the New York Post buried the article on page 26.

At the same time, Kamala Harris was languishing as a low-profile sidekick to President Joe Biden. Once seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party, she struggled with both her profile and her portfolio, disappointing her supporters and delighting her critics. No one was talking about Harris running for the top job — they were wondering if Biden should replace her as his running mate when he sought a second term.

▶ Read more about how we got here

The vice president is holding a rally in Allentown with rapper Fat Joe before visiting a Puerto Rican restaurant in Reading with New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez.

She’ll also hold an evening Pittsburgh rally featuring performances by DJ D-Nice, Katy Perry and Andra Day, before rallying at Philadelphia’s Museum of the Arts’ “Rocky Steps,” featuring a statue of the fictional boxer.

The final event includes remarks from DJ Cassidy, Fat Joe, Freeway and Just Blaze, as well as Lady Gaga, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Ricky Martin, The Roots, Jazmine Sullivan and Adam Blackstone, and Oprah Winfrey.

Former President Donald Trump is closing out what he says will be his last campaign day for the White House with a jam-packed schedule that includes four rallies across three battleground states.

He’ll begin Monday in Raleigh, North Carolina, underscoring the significance of a state he has visited the past three days.

He then heads to Pennsylvania — perhaps the biggest prize on the electoral map — for rallies in Reading and Pittsburgh.

He will end his night — and likely spend the early hours of Election Day morning — in Grand Rapids, Michigan. That’s a campaign tradition for the former president who also held last-day rallies there during his 2016 and 2020 campaigns.

After a visit to Scranton, Harris will speak in Allentown — a majority Hispanic city that’s home to tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans — at an event with rapper Fat Joe, whose parents were of Puerto Rican and Cuban descent.

Pennsylvania is a swing state that could decide the election. But the stop also comes after a comic at a recent Donald Trump rally suggested that Puerto Rico was “garbage.”

Harris later heads to Reading, where she plans to visit a Puerto Rican restaurant with New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Atrium Health Amphitheater, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Macon, Ga. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Atrium Health Amphitheater, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Macon, Ga. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at Jenison Field House on the campus of Michigan State University, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at Jenison Field House on the campus of Michigan State University, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

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