A former Los Angeles deputy mayor pleaded guilty to reporting an anti-Israel bomb threat on city hall last year.
Brian K. Williams, 61, who was employed as the deputy mayor of public safety in October 2024, was charged with one felony count of making an explosives threat.
He was hand-picked for the role by woke Mayor Karen Bass in February 2023 and given significant public safety responsibility, including oversight of the city’s fire and police departments.
Williams sent a text message to Bass and other high-ranking city officials on October 3, 2024, that he just received a call from someone who threatened to bomb city hall, prosecutors said.
‘The male caller stated that “he was tired of the city’s support of Israel, and he has decided to place a bomb in City Hall. It might be in the rotunda,”‘ Williams wrote in the text.
He said he contacted the Los Angeles Police Department, who sent officers to search the building but did not locate any suspicious packages or devices.
Williams showed officers a call he received from a blocked number on his city-issued cellphone that he said was from the person who made the bomb threat.
The call was made by Williams himself through the Google Voice application on his personal phone, according to prosecutors.
Los Angeles Deputy Mayor of Public Safety Brian K. Williams (center) pleaded guilty to reporting an anti-Israel bomb threat on city hall last year
Williams falsely claimed he had received a threat from someone who was going to bomb city hall (pictured) over the city support of Israel
The Los Angeles Police Department investigated the threat after it was first reported and determined that Williams was ‘likely’ the source of the threat.
He was placed on administrative leave over the bomb threat less than three weeks before the deadly LA fires in January.
Agents searched Williams’ home on December 17 after an investigation allegedly determined he made the September bomb threat against City Hall.
Bass, whose spokesperson claimed she took the ‘matter very seriously’, quickly issued a statement after the raid, saying: ‘My number one job is to keep Angelenos safe.
‘The only way to do that is to hold people who commit crimes accountable and to take real steps to prevent crime from happening in the first place.’
Williams’ lawyer, Dmitry Gorin, told the Los Angeles Times that his client ‘has demonstrated his unreserved and full acceptance of responsibility for his actions.’
Williams was placed on administrative leave over the bomb threat less than three weeks before the deadly LA fires in January
Williams (left) was hand-picked for the role by woke Mayor Karen Bass (center) in February 2023 and given significant public safety responsibility
‘This aberrational incident was the product of personal issues which Mr. Williams is addressing appropriately, and is not representative of his character or dedication to the city of Los Angeles,’ Gorin said.
He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and is expected to make his initial court appearance in the next few weeks.
‘In an era of heated political rhetoric that has sometimes escalated into violence, we cannot allow public officials to make bomb threats,’ said United States Attorney Bill Essayli.
‘My office will continue its efforts to keep the public safe, including from those who violate their duty to uphold the law.’
