American citizens are rushing to the assistance of their countrymen impacted by Hurricane Helene, but Democrats and the federal government are halting assistance, all while illegal immigrants are given taxpayer dollars. The hurricane has carved a 500-mile swath of destruction across Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, parts of Tennessee, and Virginia, with rural North Carolina having been hit especially hard. Charity organizations and private citizens have mobilized to assist hurricane victims, largely in areas neglected by state and federal agencies, but authorities are telling Americans to stop.

Helicopter pilot and volunteer firefighter Jordan Seidhom of South Carolina had been flying into western North Carolina with his son to deliver food and water to stranded hurricane victims. He began taking victims down the side of a mountain one at a time, leaving his son on the mountain so as not to put too much weight on the small chopper. However, on safely taking the first victim down, Seidhom was told by a local Lake Lure fire official that he could not rescue further victims. The official threatened Seidhom with arrest if he attempted to bring the second victim down the mountain. “I explained to him that I left my son on the side of the mountain, and I left another victim. I was going to go back and bring them, it was already set up for the landing spot and then I would get out of his area,” Seidhom said. “He told me I wasn’t going to go back up the mountain to get them, I was going to leave them there.”

While Seidhom did return to pick up his son, the Lake Lure fire official insisted that he would arrest the pilot if he attempted to bring the second victim down the mountain, so Seidhom had to leave the man stranded in his “crumbling” driveway. Less than half an hour later, a flight restriction was placed over the Lake Lure area that prevented Seidhom and others from rescuing hurricane victims. “If I had to do it over again, I would have stopped and I would have rescued as many people until they decided they were going to arrest me,” Seidhom said of his experience.

The U.S. Department of Transportation, led by failed Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, also issued a warning to American citizens, warning them not to fly “near or around” affected areas. “Our goal is to make sure that funding is no obstacle to very quickly getting people the relief that they need and deserve,” Buttigieg said.

Other pilots and drivers have also been threatened with fines and arrest after attempting or offering to help. One young man reported that he planned to use his high-quality thermal drone to locate lost or stranded victims after a North Carolina woman asked for help locating her brother, who had been washed away in a flood. “Then I get a phone call and an email. We’re being told to stand down,” the drone operator reported.

The young man also said that a friend of his had shown up with generators, water, and food to take to stranded victims but was “turned down.” The drone operator asked, “Why? You have people that need things … and you’re asking people to stand down that have the capabilities to help somebody. It doesn’t make sense to me. Make it make sense. I don’t understand.”

FEMA Accused of Blocking, Confiscating Donated Supplies

Joe Rieck, vice president of emergency survival supplies brand My Patriot Supply, told investigative reporter and former Naval intelligence officer Jack Posobiec that My Patriot Supply has been blocked from taking food, water, and other supplies to hurricane victims because they do not have “permissions” from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). “They’re being told that they [need to meet] special requirements from FEMA in order to enter these certain areas,” Rieck said. Allen Mashburn, a contributor to The Blaze and Salem News, reported that a supply company tried to “donate pipe for repairs, to expedite city/county water being restored,” but was turned down by federal officials.

Retired Army Lt. Col. Bill Stebbins relayed information from a fellow veteran stranded in the area. “People can’t get to any [distribution] points because they have no fuel. People are walking on foot and dragging wagons. … The majority of federal and state assets are being diverted to the incorporated areas of Asheville, Black [Mountain], etc. and without a deliberate effort yet into the rural unincorporated areas,” he said. He predicted, “The death count WILL be in the thousands.”

Others have reported that FEMA is not only not helping victims and preventing civilians from doing so, but is actually confiscating supplies donated by others and not delivering to affected areas. One volunteer who has been taking supplies into the mountains in North Carolina reported, “FEMA is currently confiscating donations and blocking volunteers. … As crazy as it sounds FEMA is directly confiscating donated items and blocking volunteers from helping, kicking churches out of parking lots etc.”

He also shared testimony from another volunteer in neighboring Tennessee, who said that FEMA is not giving donated food, water, or supplies to victims unless they are “approved” after having applied for assistance, usually online. She also warned that monetary donations are being banked and spread across multiple FEMA funds, instead of being put entirely towards helping Hurricane Helene victims. She requested, “[I]f you donate, donate to a church or give to individuals. They can not take supplies from church[es]! Church members will make sure your donations get to the correct hands.”

Another volunteer, John Hill, drove through North Carolina and recounted, “They have no driveways, no power no food. People are dying.” He further reported, “The government is confiscating supplies from small towns at their ‘drop off points.’ That’s why I’m bringing everything to the people directly. I met up with a convoy of patriots and we drove supplies to places people couldn’t get to and roads that were closed.”

Rescue volunteer and former MMA fighter Tim Kennedy said, “FEMA is present but they’re in the way! They are interrupting our ability to conduct missions and operations.” He reported that he drove around collecting stranded hurricane victims and took them to a hotel, where a security guard informed him that the entire hotel had been booked for federal government employees. “This is biblical-level devastation, this is apocalyptic,” he said of the hurricane wreckage from which victims were rescued.

Reports have also suggested that military members are being kept away from rescue missions, and service members with families in the impacted areas are being denied leave to help their families. One service member stationed in Fayetteville, North Carolina, reportedly said, “We have guys in our unit with family in Western NC that are trying to get to their family, guys who are asking to put in passes to go help any way they can… they’re all getting told no.” He added, “Meanwhile we got briefed that we have to be on standby [in case] we need to support the Middle East. The people stuck need to know that we’re trying but our higher ups aren’t allowing it.”

A member of the U.S. Air Force reportedly shared that he and his unit were stationed in eastern Tennessee near the wreckage, but were being prevented from helping. “Still sitting here at McGhee Tyson Air Base in eastern Tennessee not doing s***. Been here for 48 hrs and the only thing we have been tasked to do is fly some VIPs around yesterday,” he said. He added, “We are literally a 35 min flight from Asheville [in North Carolina] and fully mission capable to support 4 ship ops and extended ground ops.” Dr. Ben Braddock, editor-at-large at IM-1776 Magazine, reportedly confirmed that North Carolina’s Governor Roy Cooper (D) is actively “impeding the deployment of military aid” to his state.

FEMA whistleblowers confirmed such stories to Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), according to a letter the congressman sent to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who oversees FEMA. “FEMA has wasted taxpayer funds, misappropriated funds, and left other federal, state, and local responders without deployment orders on the ground,” Gaetz wrote, based on whistleblower testimony. He continued, “As reported and further confirmed by my office, hundreds, if not thousands of service members were deployed by the Department of Defense to North Carolina and have sat idle, waiting for FEMA. We have confirmed FEMA employees confirmed, on the clock, awaiting orders in hotels.” Furthermore, Gaetz wrote, “FEMA pre-disaster aid was withheld, exacerbating the emergency.”

FEMA Funds Depleted through Spending on Illegal Immigrants

While civilians are being told to “stand down” as state and federal authorities handle the crisis, the federal government in particular is being criticized for overspending taxpayer dollars on programs benefitting illegal immigrants and underspending on helping American citizens.

Mayorkas was torched by critics after announcing on Wednesday that FEMA does not have enough funding to last through the hurricane season, although the agency did note that $10 million has already allegedly been dispersed for immediate disaster needs. “We are meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have. We are expecting another hurricane hitting,” Mayorkas said. “FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season,” he added.

But FEMA has spent a staggering $1.4 billion over the past two years providing for illegal immigrants. This year alone, DHS earmarked over $640 million to be spent on housing, feeding, and sheltering illegal immigrants “encountered by the Department of Homeland Security.” It has been alleged that at least some of that money has been used to provide housing, food, and even cars for immigrants such as the Haitians relocated to small, rural towns like Springfield, Ohio, and Charleroi, Pennsylvania.

Georgia’s Governor Brian Kemp (R) said that he was “outraged” that FEMA only approved disaster relief aid for 11 counties in Georgia out of the 90 that were affected and requested aid. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said, “FEMA spending over a billion dollars on illegals while they leave Americans stranded and without help is treasonous. U.S. citizens are dying.” He advised, “Pray for our country folks.” On Thursday night’s episode of “Washington Watch,” Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) quipped, “What we ought to be doing is shutting down the White House’s budget and using that money to help these hurricane victims. It is incredible the lack of focus that this administration has on everyday working American citizens, their intent on bringing all these [immigrants] in.”

“They can stand there,” Weber continued, “and lie through their teeth to the American public, because that’s their agenda: is to bring more illegals in here to vote.” The congressman noted that most of the illegal immigrants he has personally witnessed disembarking planes into the U.S. have been provided with no other form of identification than voter registration numbers. Remarking on the fact that the illegal immigrants are almost always military-aged males, Weber asked, “How many young girls have been raped and lost their lives because of Joe Biden's willingness to bring the enemy right into our camp?”

Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris has pledged a $750 payment to Americans impacted by the hurricane, while illegal immigrants have been provided with pre-paid debit cards upon arriving at U.S. ports of entry, oftentimes loaded with thousands of dollars. Former President Donald Trump’s campaign responded, “Kamala was too busy defrauding her San Francisco donors this weekend to notice there was a hurricane — and when she did finally show up, all she had to offer the victims was $750 and a ‘good luck.’ Kamala loves two things: herself and illegal immigrants, in that order.”

In the wake of the destruction wrought by Hurricane Helene, Trump temporarily paused campaign events to tour affected areas, donate millions of dollars to relief funds, and establish a GoFundMe to benefit victims. When the hurricane hit, Harris was hosting fundraisers in California, pocketing over $20 million for her campaign. It was five days before either she or her boss, President Joe Biden, visited areas affected by the hurricane.