By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-15 16:50:27 | Updated at 2025-01-15 19:54:08
3 hours ago
The deputy mayor of Los Angeles who oversees the city's fire department was placed on administrative leave over an alleged bomb threat less than three weeks before the deadly wildfires erupted in the LA.
Deputy Mayor Brian Williams has been on administrative leave since the FBI raided his home in mid-December over a bomb threat he allegedly made against City Hall in September.
The Los Angeles Police Department investigated the threat after it was first reported and determined that Williams was 'likely' the source of the threat.
Williams was hand-picked for the role as deputy by woke Mayor Karen Bass in February 2023 and given significant public safety responsibility, including oversight of the city's fire and police departments.
Due to his working relationship with the LAPD, the bomb threat investigation was handed over to the FBI, who then carried out a search of his home.
The deputy mayor has not been arrested or charged with a crime, but still remains on leave. His attorney told KCAL that he 'strongly maintains his innocence and intends to vigorously fight the allegations'.
Bass, shortly after the raid, issued a statement saying her 'number one job is to keep Angelenos safe' and promising to 'hold people who commit crimes accountable'.
Her statement has now come under scrutiny, as it is nearly identical a remark she made over the weekend regarding the city's response to the apocalyptic fires that have killed at least 25 people.
Los Angeles Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Brian Williams has been accused of making a bomb threat at City Hall last year
Williams was hand-picked for the role as deputy by woke Mayor Karen Bass in February 2023 and given significant public safety responsibility. Bass is pictured on Sunday at a press conference addressing the ongoing fires that have razed LA
Williams, who oversees the city's fire department, was placed on administrative leave less than three weeks before the deadly wildfires erupted in the LA. Pictures is a Malibu beach front home that was destroyed by the Palisades Fire
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 said that 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.'
But critics are now questioning her sincerity after she made an almost verbatim remark over the weekend during a press briefing about the deadly fires.
A CBS News reporter, noting how the strong hurricane-force winds were set to further fuel the fires this week, asked Bass: 'Why are you not implementing broader closures right now to keep your constituents safe?'
'We are doing everything to keep Angelenos safe,' she replied, adding that the city would issue further closures if there was a 'need' to do so.
Mayor Karen Bass's office confirmed Wednesday the FBI raided Williams' home. They are pictured together with Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka (right) aboard the Battleship USS Iowa to officially announce the start of LA Fleet Week in 2023
Bass named Williams deputy mayor of public safety in February 2023.
Williams' duties included oversight of the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles Fire Department and the various police department that patrol Los Angeles International Airport and the Port of Los Angeles.
During his time as deputy mayor, Williams also worked on issues including police hiring, public safety spending and the search for a new police chief, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Williams had earlier served for seven years as the executive director of the Los Angeles County's Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission, and was previously a deputy mayor under former Mayor James Hahn.
In that position, he oversaw management of public works and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation.
Meanwhile, fires have been burring homes and businesses in LA for a week.
The infernos killed at least 25 people, displaced thousands of others and destroyed more than 12,000 buildings in what might be the most expensive set of conflagrations in the nation's history.
The blazes started January 7, fueled by fierce Santa Ana winds that have posed problems for the large forces of firefighters deployed across several areas of the sprawling city.
Fire Crews battle the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon, Jan. 11, 2025, in Los Angeles
An overhead pole camera image shows a neighborhood destroyed by the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, on January 14, 2025
Cal Fire reported that the Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth and Hurst fires have consumed a total area of about 63 square miles. Cal Fire reported containment of the Palisades Fire at 19 per cent and the Eaton Fire at 45 per cent on Wednesday.
The Palisades Fire, along the coast, has been blamed for eight deaths, while the Eaton Fire farther inland has been blamed for 17 others, the LA County medical examiner's office said. Nearly 30 people were missing.
Investigators are still trying to determine what sparked the fires. They could be the nation's costliest ever.
Government agencies haven't provided preliminary damage estimates yet, but AccuWeather, a company that provides data on weather and its impact, puts the damage and economic losses at $250billion to $275billion.
