Rutherford County, North Carolina - A North Carolina man was recently arrested for threatening Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials helping with recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene.

According to Fox 8, deputies with the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office got a report around 12:54 PM on Saturday regarding a man with an assault rifle who was comments to FEMA workers about harming them.

Upon arriving at the scene, law enforcement found William Jacob Parsons (44) of Bostic, whom deputies claim was armed with a handgun and rifle.

Parsons, who is said to have acted alone, was arrested, given a $10,000 secured bond, and is facing a misdemeanor charge of Going Armed to the Terror of the Public.

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He has since made bond and has been released from custody.

The incident is believed to be in relation to misinformation and conspiracy theories – notably spread by former President Donald Trump and right-wing allies – regarding the response to the devastation of Hurricane Helene, which hit western North Carolina the hardest.

Earlier on Saturday, The Washington Post reported an official with the US Forest Service – which is assisting FEMA in their recovery efforts – sent an urgent email to multiple federal agencies warning FEMA had advised responders in Rutherford County to "stand down and evacuate the county immediately" because National Guard troops "had come across x2 trucks of armed militia saying they were out hunting FEMA."

The claims of an armed militia have yet to be confirmed, but Capt. Jamie Keever of the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office says they are "trying to get the word out" that Parsons "was a lone individual."