The Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters, in Washington. FEMA officials have been trying to combat misinformation and threats to federal personnel amid hurricane response in the southeast. Kent Nishimura / Getty Images
Federal personnel are facing threats during hurricane response, DHS chief warns
As misinformation swirls, posters online have vowed to send militias and 'shoot' federal workers responding to recent disasters.
Federal employees aiding in disaster response and recovery efforts are facing threats that could lead to harm, Homeland Security Department Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas cautioned on Thursday, saying his agency would help protect those being targeted.
The threats followed significant misinformation regarding the federal government’s response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, including false rumors pushed by former President Trump. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the rest of the Biden administration have repeatedly sought to correct the record, but federal responders are now facing consequences from the distribution of various hoaxes and distorted narratives.
“We are seeing horrific hate speech of all types propagated on online platforms,” Mayorkas said from North Carolina during a White House briefing Thursday. “That deplorable speech has an impact on people's lives, and it is also a motivating force for people to do harm. And it has got to stop.”
FEMA has launched a "rumor response" page on its website in an attempt to put out more accurate information about its relief efforts. It has clarified, for example, that it has adequate funds to meet immediate needs, does not solicit cash donations, is not diverting disaster relief funds to migrant processing or housing and is not limiting relief to only $750 per person.
More than 5,000 federal employees are currently deployed in response to Hurricane Helene, while thousands more are assisting after Milton devastated Florida on Wednesday.
Mayorkas said it was DHS’ responsibility to push back on the threats FEMA and other personnel are facing.
“It is our work in the Department of Homeland Security to combat hate in all its forms,” the secretary said. “We will continue that work.”
The Institute for Strategic Dialogue, an anti-extremism non-profit organization, found in its analysis that federal officials in recent weeks have faced a “deluge” of hate and threats.
“Falsehoods around hurricane response have spawned credible threats and incitement to violence directed at the federal government,” ISD said. “This includes calls to send militias to face down FEMA for the perceived denial of aid, and that individuals would ‘shoot’ FEMA officials and the agency’s emergency responders.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland earlier this year vowed to prosecute anyone making threats against career federal employees, which he said have spiked to unprecedented levels.
“We will do everything we can in our power to investigate, deter and prosecute anyone who makes threats against public servants,” Garland said in June.
Federal officials have warned that threats against civil servants have increased in recent years, including at the Environmental Protection Agency, Internal Revenue Service and FBI. Those agencies, in conjunction with the Homeland Security Department’s Federal Protective Service, have taken steps to harden federal buildings and issue warnings to their workforces.