A group of volunteers conducting rescue operations in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene have raised concerns about the federal and state government’s response to the disaster.
Led by Jon Howard of the Florida Guard Special Missions Unit, the team, which includes Aerial Recovery’s Charlie Keebaugh and two helicopter pilots, saved an 11-day-old baby amidst ongoing rescue efforts.
Despite their work, they questioned the Biden-Harris administration’s leadership as communities struggle with the aftermath of the devastating storm.
“There’s just a complete failure of weak leadership here in North Carolina, the federal government, and it takes mind-strong leadership in Florida to send us up here,” Howard told Fox News host Bill Hemmer on Friday.
“If it wasn’t for DeSantis sending the state guard special missions unit up here, this never even would have happened. But there’s just no support here. There’s no leadership.”
“When we meet these locals on the ground, they’re asking, like, ‘You’re from the state guard?’ I’m like, ‘I am from Florida,’ and they’re like, ‘Where’s North Carolina?’ You know, they’re asking where their leadership is,” he continued. “They have no understanding of what’s going on, and then we’ve even had people, officials here, try to kick us out of Lakemoor, out of Chimney Rock… Nonsense stuff. They’re asking me for my authorizations to be here… It’s the most insane thing you would ever see. It’s like they want these people to die.”
