Former aide to Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass, who served as deputy mayor of public security, agreed to plead guilty to threatening to bomb city halls last year, the Justice Department said Thursday.
Brian Williams, 61, of Pasadena, agreed to plead guilty to a single count of “information with threats about fires and explosives,” which sentences him to up to 10 years in prison.
“In an age of intense political rhetoric that has escalated to violence, we cannot allow civil servants to pose a bomb threat,” said Attorney Bill Essay. “My office will continue to make efforts to keep our citizens safe, including those who violate our obligation to support the law.”
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View of Los Angeles City Hall. (Getty Images)
The threat took place on October 3, 2024 during a virtual meeting with Williams and others related to his duties, federal prosecutors said. During the call, Williams used the Google Voice application on his personal phone to call his city-issued phone.
He then left the meeting and called the Chief of Staff of the Los Angeles Police Department. There, he mistakenly stated that he just received a call on a city-issued mobile phone from an unknown man who threatened to bomb Los Angeles City Hall.
Ten minutes after the call, Williams texted Bass and several high-ranking city officials in the mayor's office, saying, “Bomb Threat: I got a call on the city phone at 10:48am this morning. The male caller said, “He's tired of Israeli city support and decided to put the bomb at city hall. I immediately contacted the LAPD Chief of Staff. They will do a search of the building and send many officers to determine if anyone else has been threatened.”
Investigators determined that Williams had never received a call and had threatened the bomb threat himself. Federal prosecutors pointed out that Williams had no intention of carrying out the threat.
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La Mayor Karen Bass has put pressure on staff to resign, claiming on Friday he is “pleasant that the person in charge has resigned.” (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times Getty Images)
LAPD responded to city hall and searched for suspicious devices. Prosecutors said nothing was found.
Williams described the threatening call he claimed to have received from police and provided them with records of incoming calls, which were shown as clogged numbers on his city-issued mobile phone.
The incoming call record was a call Williams placed himself from the Google Voice application on his personal mobile phone, investigators decided.
Williams then texted Bass and other city officials.
“At this point, there is no need to evacuate the building. I will be meeting with a threat management officer within the next 10 minutes,” he wrote. “In light of Jewish holidays, we take this thread a little more seriously. I will continue to post you.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, left, then-Public Safety Mayor Brian K. Williams and LAPD Chief Michelle Moore were at the LAPD Police Academy on December 7, 2023 in Los Angeles. The Justice Department said Williams would plead guilty to threatening to bomb city hall buildings last year. (Getty Images)
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“Not only did Mr. Williams, the deputy mayor of Public Security in Los Angeles, not only did he betray Los Angeles residents by creating a bomb threat, but he also betrayed the integrity of the office itself.” “Government officials are bound by elevated standards as we rely on them to protect the city. We have settled Mr. Williams' responsibility for his inexplicable actions.”
Williams is expected to appear in court in the coming weeks, prosecutors said.
Fox News Digital has contacted Bass' office.
