In Depth with Dan: Tackling your lingering questions about attack on Moore County power grid

Since the Dec. 3 attack on the Moore County power grid, WRAL News has worked to try to answer several lingering questions. WRAL's Dag Haggerty is looking into some of these questions to help provide deeper insight into what we do know -- and what we don't.

Apparently, protecting substations is something power companies warned about years ago. The Department of Homeland Security also issued warnings mere days ahead of the attack.

In 2013, a sniper attacked a California substation. The crime remains unsolved. Last month, a substation in Jones County, NC was also attacked.

Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields has said multiple times that there is a no provable connection between the power-grid attack and a drag show on Dec. 3 at the Sunrise Theater in Southern Pines. Considering that, why are media members so focused on it?

When mass shootings happen, media members cover them and social media starts buzzing. People get riled up.

In Southern Pines, protesters started rallying and calling for prayer and counter protesters started protesting the protesters.

It was peaceful with signs and chanting, but it also got heated and angry. Let’s not forget about the death threats.

Then, just as the show was getting underway on Saturday – the attack happened – someone shot the power grid – the blackout spread across Moore County.

Also, one of the organizers of the drag protests posted to Facebook, “The power is out in Moore County and I know why.”

The post got people curious like Fields, Cooper, the FBI and 100,000 people trying to figure out what to do with all the food in their fridge.

Investigators went to the organizer’s house and questioned her. She told investigators that God did it and will not be mocked, and knocked out the power to stop the drag show.

As of Wednesday evening, authorities still do not know who attacked the power grid.

The bulletin reads in part, “Lone offenders and small groups motivated by a range of ideological beliefs and/or personal grievances continue to pose a persistent and lethal threat to the Homeland. Targets of potential violence include public gatherings, faith-based institutions, the LGBTQI+ community, schools, racial and religious minorities, government facilities and personnel, U.S. critical infrastructure, the media, and perceived ideological opponents.”

That’s why the drag show is such a big part of this story – since potentially – this attack checks a few things off that list.

This weekend, people protested a drag event in Florida by waving a Nazi flag and wearing Nazi insignia.

In Ohio, protesters opposed a drag event dressed like they were going into war – with rifles and camo and helmets.

The top two states were Texas and North Carolina at 10 each. Considering Texas has three times the population of North Carolina, that’s why the drag event is part of this story.

As of Wednesday evening, Duke Energy’s outage map shows there are only two active outages and two customers without power among 47,018 customers served.