AID workers in hurricane-hit North Carolina have faced threats from members of the public following a rise in conspiracy theories, many of them politically motivated.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) workers were briefly forced to pull out of the US state as false information about land confiscation, cursory aid payments and deliberate weather manipulations rapidly spread.

On Saturday, a man was arrested after allegedly speaking in a shop about harming relief workers and was found with a rifle and handgun.

William Jacob Parsons was charged with “going armed to the terror of the people,” punishable by a maximum of 120 days in jail, with bail set at $10,000, (£7,600) authorities said.

His Facebook profile included dozens of posts about Covid-19, vaccines and voting conspiracies.

Among them are several posts with the logo of far-right anti-government militia movement the Three Percenters.

Reports indicate that several extremist groups are active in the area, attempting to capitalise on the disaster.

Fema officials working in the region around Ashe County have also faced threats, local Sheriff Phil Howell said online.

Nearly 100 people died when Hurricane Helene hit at the weekend, according to authorities, and many people remain missing in the region.