Tennessee mayor on FEMA attacks post-Helene: ‘Quit spreading those rumors’

A mayor in Tennessee joined other local officials Friday to denounce skepticism and rumors that have swirled around the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) response to the devastation in the southeastern U.S. from Hurricane Helene.

Mayor Glenn Jacobs (R), who serves Knox County, Tenn., signaled in a post online that the attacks on the administration could make recovery efforts more difficult.

“To my knowledge, FEMA, TEMA, nor anyone else is confiscating supplies,” Jacobs, a former professional wrestler, wrote Friday in a post on social platform X. “Please quit spreading those rumors as they are counterproductive to response efforts.”

“If everyone could maybe please put aside the hate for a bit and pitch in to help, that would be great,” he added.

The message comes days after allegations were floated that FEMA does not have enough money to provide disaster assistance, is stealing cash donations from survivors and has turned away volunteers.

It also follows skepticism from former President Trump around the Biden administration’s response to the deadly storm, when he claimed FEMA would use hurricane funds on migrants. The White House pushed back on these claims Friday, calling out the GOP for “using Hurricane Helene to lie and divide us.”

In an effort to curb misinformation, the agency launched a “rumor response” page, advising the public to find and share information from trusted sources and to discourage others from sharing details from unverified ones. It also seeks to dispel rumors as the search for storm victims continues across multiple states and authorities contend with blocked roads and power outages.

“FEMA does not take donations and/or food from survivors or voluntary organizations. Donations of food, water, or other goods are handled by voluntary agencies who specialize in storing, sorting, cleaning, and distributing donated items,” the site reads. “FEMA does not conduct vehicle stops or handle road closures with armed guards — those are done by local law enforcement.” 

Jacobs, in a separate post on X, said states should operate more like Florida, and rely less on the federal government.

“I understand the frustration with FEMA and the wasted money and resources,” he wrote. “At the same time, conservatives shouldn’t be looking to the federal government to fix anything.”

His comments follow a similar sentiment from North Carolina state Sen. Kevin Corbin (R), who also asked the public to tone down the rhetoric, calling it “conspiracy theory junk.”