But as reported by Raw Story, Smith’s effort, part of a surge of armed civilians, many with military experience, also contributed intentionally or not to a climate of intimidation that led to the evacuation of a state medical assistance team including contract workers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the investigation by U.S. Army Special Operations Command.
Smith now features the response to Helene on his campaign website, describing public service “from the battlefields of Afghanistan to the disaster zones of western North Carolina.”
His campaign highlights a compelling personal story: Following the hurricane, Smith drove overnight from Texas and commandeered a private helicopter to rescue his three-year-old daughter, who was stranded with her mother at their home in the flood-ravaged region.
Smith, who did not respond to a request for an interview for this story, regarding which Raw Story also exchanged messages with his publicist, is so far the only Republican challenger to Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District, which the Cook Political Report recently downgraded from “solid Republican” to “likely Republican.”
The race has attracted six Democrats, including retired Air Force Col. Moe Davis and nurse practitioner Chris Harjes.
Last year, about a week after Helene hit western North Carolina, Smith and others appeared in a video posted on a Trump campaign Facebook page that described them as “heroic volunteers” who said “the federal government has been completely AWOL.” The caption accused Trump’s opponent, Kamala Harris, of conducting a “fake photo op.”
On Oct. 21, 2024, when Trump visited Swannanoa, NC, Smith and Edwards appeared with him. Trump praised Smith for “an amazing act of citizenship and service,” describing how he “transformed the parking lot of a Harley-Davidson dealership into a makeshift airbase to help distribute supplies.”
Trump also criticized the Democratic administration in Washington.
“The power of nature, nothing you can do about it,” Trump said. “But you gotta get a little bit better crew in to do a better job than has been done by the White House. It’s been not good …
“Many Americans in this region felt helpless and abandoned and left behind by their government. And yet in North Carolina’s hour of desperation, the American people answered the call much more so than your federal government, unfortunately.”
Nine days before Trump’s visit, however, state and federal emergency workers evacuated due to perceived threats from armed civilians across the region.
‘Human remains detection’
In Yancey County, a state medical assistance team including FEMA workers abruptly evacuated in response to perceived militia activity.
In Rutherford County, FEMA temporarily suspended outreach as a man with an assault rifle was arrested for threatening federal workers.
And across the state line, in Tennessee, witnesses reportedly observed an armed group harassing FEMA workers.
A drone view shows a damaged area following Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. Photograph: Marco Bello/REUTERS
The state medical assistance team assigned to a disaster response site in Yancey County made the decision to evacuate immediately, instead of waiting until the next morning, after three unfamiliar men approached medical workers after dark and asked them where they slept.
A FEMA contract worker speaking on condition of anonymity told Raw Story one man wore a shirt that displayed Savage Freedoms’ insignia.
Smith previously told Raw Story he didn’t believe it was possible for a member of his group to have spoken to the medical workers because a first shipment of T-shirts didn’t come in until late that day or early the next day.
But he confirmed that Savage Freedoms had a “small team” conducting “human remains detection” in Relief, about eight miles from the Yancey County site.
Marlon Jonnaert, a Marine Corps veteran who was at the site, told Raw Story that although he wouldn’t describe Savage Freedoms as a “militia” or call it “threatening … it seemed like they were energetically antagonizing the government and drawing attention to their operation.”
Smith confirmed to Raw Story that U.S. Army Special Operations Command, based at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, investigated a “rumor” he “was leading militia forces to subvert the efforts of FEMA.”
Smith said he emphatically denied the allegation.
Smith’s campaign website doesn’t mention that investigation, instead highlighting recognition from another Army component. The website states that “ground force commanders” from the Army’s 101st Airborne Division reported “Savage Ops’ effectiveness” to a general.
Raw Story was unable to verify the claim.
‘Leading the charge’
Amidst efforts to deliver supplies and clear debris after Helene, Smith’s focus extended towards overhauling national disaster response strategy.
Two weeks after Helene, he traveled 150 miles east to Greensboro to attend a campaign event hosted by JD Vance, Trump’s running mate. Vance joined the crowd in giving Smith a standing ovation when Smith mentioned he had been delivering supplies across western North Carolina.
Smith asked Vance: “Can we have a conversation about revamping national disaster strategy so that we can utilize retired veterans and Special Operations personnel who have been leading the charge, hands down, in western North Carolina and effectively provide food, supplies and medical assistance to thousands and thousands of lives, and revamping the national disaster strategy in the United States to make it more effective?”
Vance said: “I want to thank you all for everything that you did. And I want to thank all of the private relief agencies, the good Samaritans that did their job, that took care of their fellow Americans.”
Two days later, the state medical assistance team in Yancey County chose to travel under cover of darkness, in convoy over a treacherous, partially washed-out two-lane highway, to flee what they saw as a militia threat.
