Men accused of looting, did not slash tires of aid trucks | Fact check

An Oct. 7 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows the mugshots of eight different men.
“Fifty-one semi trucks have had their tires slashed going to help victims in North Carolina,” reads on-screen text included in the post. “These are the looters who stole the food & medical supplies from the trucks. Every one of them illegal.”
The post was liked more than 300 times in four days.
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The men pictured have been charged in connection with post-Helene looting in Tennessee, not slashing the tires of aid trucks, according to police. There are no credible reports of trucks delivering aid to victims of Hurricane Helene being looted or having their tires slashed.
Helene carved a path of destruction and claimed more than 200 lives across six southeastern states after making landfall in Florida on Sept. 26.
The destruction has been followed by sporadic reports of looting, but the viral post describes events that didn’t happen.
The men pictured were arrested in connection with looting in the flood zone of Washington County, Tennessee, according to media reports. The same mugshots were shared with media outlets by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. The men have since been released on bail, and court records show they all have future court dates.
The men are farm workers in the country legally on work visas and were not arrested for slashing tires, contrary to the post’s claims, according to Susan Saylor, public information officer for the county’s sheriff’s office.
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There are no credible news reports about the tires of more than 50 aid trucks being slashed. There were reports of tires being punctured on eight trucks at a travel stop in Madison County, Tennessee, as recently as Sept. 26, but that occurred before Helene had reached North Carolina.
USA TODAY previously debunked false claims related to hurricane relief aid, including the claims that hurricane rescue missions were blocked when President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris toured damage in North Carolina, that Biden said there would be no more aid for victims and that police in North Carolina threatened to arrest FEMA workers who blocked aid from getting through.   
USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the claim for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Snopes also debunked the claim.
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