CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The suspect accused of threatening Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employees with a gun was expected in court on Nov. 21 after having a previous court date continued earlier this month. His case was continued to Feb. 4, 2025.
Authorities said William Parsons threatened FEMA workers in the Lake Lure and Chimney Rock areas of western North Carolina, while FEMA workers were helping with Hurricane Helene relief.
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Investigators determined he worked alone and dispelled earlier information about a 'truckload of militia' targeting FEMA workers. When officials in Rutherford County received a call about a man with an assault rifle commenting about FEMA employees, FEMA made "operational adjustments" out of caution. Operations later returned to normal.
"So I immediately took action to pull our team from the field until we could validate what that was," FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell said at the time. "I kept them in firehouses and in the disaster recovery centers. I kept them in other fixed locations."
Parsons was arrested in October; he posted a $10,000 bond and was released from custody, according to the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office. He is facing several charges.