A former senior member of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ staff has admitted to hitting a plea agreement with federal prosecutors and denounced anti-Israel sentiment late last year, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Under the terms of the judiciary agreement, longtime law enforcement superintendent Brian Williams, who served as Bass’ deputy mayor of public safety, agreed to plead guilty to a single threat to fires and explosives, which serves the largest sentence of 10 years. He is expected to appear in the first courthouse in the coming weeks.
“In an age of intense political rhetoric that has escalated to violence, we cannot allow civil servants to pose a bomb threat,” we at Atty. Bill Essayli said in a news release announcing the deal. “My office will continue to make efforts to keep our citizens safe, including those who violate our obligation to support the law.”
In a statement by The Times, Williams’ attorney Dmitry Golin said his client “has demonstrated that he is fully accepting responsibility for his actions.”
“This extraordinary incident is a product of a personal problem that Williams is dealing with appropriately and does not represent his character or dedication to the city of Los Angeles,” Golin said.
Williams attended a virtual meeting at City Hall on October 3, 2024. According to the judiciary agreement, he used the Google Voice application on his personal phone on October 3, 2024 to call a city-issued mobile phone.
Williams admitted that he had left the meeting and called Scott Harrelson, the top aide for the LAPD Chief. The plea said Williams mistakenly said he just received a call on a city-issued mobile phone from an unknown male caller who posed a bomb threat to city hall.
According to the legal agreement, Williams had no intention of carrying out the threat.
According to the plea, about ten minutes after calling LAPD, Williams read to Bass and several other mayoral staff: I immediately contacted the LAPD Chief of Staff. They search the building and send many officers to determine if anyone else has been threatened. ”
Soon after, LAPD officials searched the building and, according to the contract, found no suspicious packages or devices. Williams said the man called and said: “I’m tired of the city’s support in Israel. I’ve decided to put a bomb at city hall. It might be in Rotunda.”
Williams gave officers a record of the following calls, displayed as blocked numbers on calls issued by the city. According to the plea bargain, the call was placed by Williams from Google Voice.
Williams served as a textbook for the mayor and other high-ranking officials and several other officials, saying there was no need to evacuate City Hall.
“I will be meeting with a threat manager within the next 10 minutes. In light of the Jewish holidays, we take this thread a little more seriously. I will continue to post you,” the text continues reading.
Federal authorities revealed they were monitoring Williams last December when FBI agents stormed their home in Pasadena. It sent shockwaves to city hall and police stations. There, many expressed distrust at the prospect that a respected government official would forge the threat of bombs.
Before the lawsuit was handed over to the FBI, detectives from the LAPD’s main crime division conducted surveillance and led them to conclude that Williams was responsible for the bomb threat, sources previously told The Times.
Williams, the deputy mayor who oversees police and fire departments, was on vacation for a January criminal investigation that caused the Pacific Palisades to be engulfed in January, killing 12 people and destroying more than 6,000 structures.
“Like many, we were shocked when these allegations were first made, and we are saddened by this conclusion,” said Zach Seidl, a spokesman for Bass.
Bass was appointed a former FBI official in early April to replace Williams. Official Robert Clark worked for the Bureau before resigning in 2016, serving as the director of the Public Safety Department for the City of Columbus, Ohio, leading anti-gang efforts in Los Angeles, among other roles.
Williams has held various government positions over 30 years. He spent nearly two years as deputy mayor in the bus office, working on issues such as police employment, public safety spending and searching for a new police chief.
Previously, Williams was the vice mayor under the management of Mayor James K. Hearn, who took office in 2001-05. Before that, he spent several years as a city lawyer in Los Angeles.
From 2016 to 23, Williams was the executive director of the Sheriff’s Civil Monitoring Committee, according to the LinkedIn page.
According to employment announcements, Williams worked in the base office and oversaw the police, fire department, port police, airport police and the city’s emergency department. He was also a member of the mayor’s inner circle and played a key role in the months of search for the new police chief, which ended with Jim McDonnell’s employment.
dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman was sworn in last year, and Williams was a city official chosen to address the audience on behalf of the mayor. He was also a fixture for police graduations, newspaper meetings, community meetings, and other events in the city, and often wore a suit and bow tie that was pulled.
Williams’ attorney, Gorin, called his clients “a career civil servant who has worked closely with law enforcement, community groups, public safety and prosecutors’ agencies in local governments and has dedicated his life to the service of others.”
Akil Davis, assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, said Williams “not only betrayed Los Angeles residents, but also betrayed the integrity of the office itself by adding bomb threats.”
“Government officials are bound by elevated standards as we rely on them to protect our cities,” the statement read. “I feel relieved that Williams is responsible for his inexplicable actions.”
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