More suspicion than clarity circulates over who took down Moore County power supply

The attacks on two substations that knocked out power to most homes and businesses in Moore County on Saturday night have prompted heated and widespread speculation as who did it and why.

Lots of people on social media quickly concluded that the outage was connected to opposition to a drag show taking place at the time the power went out. More than a dozen members of the far-right Proud Boys protested a drag brunch event in Moore County in October.

Is that correct? That is unknown. Officials have released very little clarifying information.

But here is what known to date on three key questions.

Was this domestic terrorism?

While state and local officials say whoever damaged the substations knew what they were doing, until a motive emerges it can’t be labeled as domestic terrorism. So far, no state, federal or local officials investigating the case have branded it as such.

“Terrorism is violence against people or property for a political purpose, designed to try to influence government or put fear in the population for political purposes,” said David Schanzer, director of the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security at Duke University.

“We would be looking for some sort of motivation,” he said. “So you’d have to know who the perpetrators are and then you’d have to have evidence of why they did what they did.”

Was Emily Grace Rainey involved?

The former Army psychological operations officer turned right-wing activist became a target of suspicion, at east briefly, when she posted on Facebook Saturday evening, “The power is out in Moore County and I know why.”

Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said law enforcement officers “had to go and interview this young lady and have a word of prayer with her, but it turned out to be nothing.”

Rainey, known locally for her protests of pandemic restrictions and drag shows, is something of a right-wing celebrity. She has cultivated an online following in part by posting video of her protests.

Emily Grace Rainey uses her phone to document a demonstration against pandemic precautions before an Oct. 12, 2020 meeting of the Moore County Board of Education.
Emily Grace Rainey uses her phone to document a demonstration against pandemic precautions before an Oct. 12, 2020 meeting of the Moore County Board of Education.



In May 2020, she recorded herself pulling down caution tape at a Southern Pines playground. “Everyone here, all you freedom fighters, this is for you,” she said in a video later posted to a Facebook page that became a rallying point for protests against pandemic precautions in North Carolina.

In October, she donned a costume to infiltrate a drag show brunch in Sanford. Anthony Crider, a photographer who documented the protest outside the show, captured a photo of Rainey later posing for a selfie with members of the Proud Boys, a far-right group known for its street brawling and prominent role in the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Fox host Tucker Carlson featured Rainey in his docuseries about the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, “Patriot Purge.” She led a group about about 100 people to the “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington, D.C.

Rainey gave her own account of the recent visit from law enforcement.

“I told them that God works in mysterious ways and is responsible for the outage,” she wrote on Facebook.

Was there any connection to the drag show?

Officials say the substation attacks happened as a drag queen show at the Sunrise Theater in Southern Pines got underway, and organizers continued the show for a while after the power went out. Naomi Dix, a Durham-based drag performer, hosted the event.

The timing, and Rainey’s Facebook comments, which alluded to the drag show, set off widespread speculation of a connection on social media.

Law enforcement officials say they have yet to prove it, but they have not ruled out the possibility. The show drew dozens of protesters. Two local Christian schools opposed it, The Fayetteville Observer reported.

Schanzer said if the substation attacks were a protest against the drag show with the intent of shutting it down, that would qualify as an act of domestic terrorism.

Last month, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) reported that North Carolina and Texas topped the list of states that had the North Carolina tied with Texas for the most anti-drag protests, threats or attacks against drag events across the country.