Eight alleged migrants have been arrested for looting in an area of eastern Tennessee that has been severely impacted by flooding and mudslides caused by Hurricane Helene. The men, arrested on Saturday, faced their first court appearance on Monday.
Five of the men are being charged with aggravated burglary. Washington County law enforcement says they broke into occupied structures to rob individuals impacted by the catastrophic flooding. They have been identified as Albin Nahun Vega-Rapalo, 24; David Bairon Rapalo-Rapalo, 37; Kevin Noe Martinez-Lopez, 25; Marvin Hernandez-Martinez, 43; and Dayln Gabriel Guillen Guillen, 37.
Meanwhile, an additional three men have been charged with burglary after being caught looting unoccupied buildings. The three are identified as Jesus Leodan Garcia-Peneda, 51; Josue Berardo Ortis-Valdez, 30; and Ersy Leonel Ortis-Valdez, 33.
“Kamala [Harris] and [Joe] Biden don’t have the resources to rescue Americans [but they do] have the resources to import migrants to loot them,” commented Stephen Miller, a former advisor to Donald Trump.
NEW: 8 alleged migrants have been arrested in Eastern, Tennessee for robbing flood victims as local communities try to recover from apocalyptic flooding.
Local Americans are helping their neighbors in need however some migrants are capitalizing on the tragedy.
Albin Nahun… pic.twitter.com/aJTaugYJ6G
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) September 30, 2024
APOCALYPTIC STORM DAMAGE.
A large swath of the United States, almost 500 miles wide and stretching from Florida through Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, southern Virginia, and Kentucky, was devastatingly impacted by Hurricane Helene over the weekend. Making landfall in the Florida panhandle, the storm’s high winds caused extensive damage along the Gulf Coast.
As the storm moved north, catastrophic flooding occurred as Helene dumped historic amounts of rain throughout the Appalachian Mountains. Consequently, millions are without power, and hundreds are believed dead. Mudslides and flash floods destroyed numerous small towns dotting the mountain valleys throughout western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.
The Biden-Harris government has been the target of sharp criticism for its slow response to the crisis. President Joe Bident spent the weekend with family at his Delaware beach home. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris attended several campaign fundraisers on the West Coast, only returning to Washington, D.C., on Monday.
09/29 5pm (EDT)/ 4pm (CDT) Update:
– TDOT has inspected over 100 bridges in the last 36 hours, with hundreds more to go.
-27 sections of TDOT roadways are closed
-14 state bridges are closed, 5 are gone
-Debris clearing and removal is ongoing pic.twitter.com/GfDQR3Nx7C— myTDOT (@myTDOT) September 29, 2024