POWER PLAY: NC Police question right-wing organizer after terrorist attacks on power grid
Police in a North Carolina county say they’re investigating the motive behind coordinated attacks in which multiple electrical substations were vandalized, leaving thousands without electricity — and one right-wing group has been questioned as they celebrate the destruction.
Moore County was suffering widespread power outages Saturday night, and upon investigation, deliberate vandalism was discovered at multiple power substations. Police announced that they were looking into the destruction as a possible criminal act — and at the same time, the leader of a local right-wing group was boasting about the damage.
It isn’t Emily Grace Rainey’s first time being investigated or questioned about her activism. She was still an army officer, though she’d already submitted a letter requesting separation, when she and around 100 others from her county attended the deadly January 6th rally in Washington D.C.
She is one of the several military members who were investigated for potential wrongdoing following that attack.
Her Facebook group, Moore County Citizens for Freedom (MCCF) had planned a protest of a family-friendly drag show that was taking place at a local theater Saturday night, and when the power went out, she suggested it was an act of God.
She also boasted that she knew the truth behind the damage. Her page had previously listed contact information for the event’s sponsors, and encouraged followers with a vague, “You know what to do.”
The Moore County Sheriff’s Office released the following statement:
“Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields reports that the mass power outage across the county is being investigated as a criminal occurrence.”
“Just after 7 pm on Saturday evening, December 3, 2022, several different communities across Moore County began experiencing power outages. As utility companies began responding to the different substations, evidence was discovered that indicated that intentional vandalism had occurred at multiple sites.”
“Moore County Sheriff’s Deputies and various other law enforcement agencies within the county responded to the different areas and are providing further site security.”
Citizens piled on in the Sheriff Department’s comment section to ask if Rainey had been questioned, citing her Facebook post in which she claimed to know what had happened.
A screenshot of that post can be seen below.
There’s no official statement released on exactly what the vandalism was, a reporter from The Pilot says that, when visiting the site Saturday night, oil could be smelled and heard leaking from the system, and that workers were scouring the ground for bullet casings.
NBC reported in January 2021 about the involvement of Rainey and MCCF in the January 6th protests and attacks. At the time, Rainey denied entering the Capitol Building, but posted on her social media that her group had been peaceful and that “they better pray we stay that way.”
It seems that Moore County police are working to determine whether the group did, in fact, “stay that way.”
Steph Bazzle covers politics and theocracy, always aiming for a world free from extremism and authoritarianism. Follow Steph on Twitter @imjustasteph.
