Baseless rumors circulated about “black helicopters” and Walmart stores that had supposedly been turned into detention camps. The storm of political paranoia whipped up over a straightforward military exercise became so fierce that some members of Congress, who later questioned the election of Joseph R. Biden Jr., began demanding answers, and Gov. In the end, the exercise went off without a hitch. Three men were arrested after planning to attack the exercise with pipe bombs. “There were actually some farmers and landowners who were making threats that if anyone was on their land, they would shoot them, so there were real concerns,” Mr. Newbold said.

Source: New York Times January 26, 2021 10:00 UTC