FTA:

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.

If you are wondering why some of the people in the Lake Lurie/Chimney Rock area are reacting this way, take a look at this video of the sheriffs in the area and wonder no more:

Sara A. Carter
@SaraCarterDC
A message from the Sheriff Wright and Sheriff Ellenburg in North Carolina regarding FEMA and the aftermath Hurricane Helen- we spent the day in Chimney Rock and Lake Lure and the devastation is unbelievable--but the people of NC have pulled together--truly amazing mountain people.

#19 Here's another article in case people don't want to support Fox News:

Man charged with gun threats made against North Carolina FEMA workers