On Monday, June 16, a former deputy mayor for the city of Los Angeles pleaded guilty to calling in a fake bomb threat to City Hall in 2024. Brian K. Williams, 61, agreed to a plea deal three weeks ago in which he said he would plead guilty to the felony charge of threatening fire and explosives.
The sentence carries a maximum of up to 10 years in prison.
“Mr. Williams, the former deputy mayor of public safety for Los Angeles, not only betrayed the residents of Los Angeles, but responding officers, and the integrity of the office itself, by fabricating a bomb threat,” Akil Davis, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office said in a statement. “Government officials are held to a heightened standard as we rely on them to safeguard the city. I’m relieved that Mr. Williams has taken responsibility for his inexplicable actions.”
Details of the incident
According to the Justice Department, on Oct. 3, 2024, while serving as deputy mayor of public safety under Mayor Karen Bass, Williams entered a virtual meeting with several other participants. During the meeting, Williams used a Google Voice app on his personal phone to place a call to his city-issued work phone.
Williams then left the meeting and contacted senior officials, claiming he had received a bomb threat from a man who said he would bomb Los Angeles City Hall.
Federal prosecutors said Williams then messaged Mayor Bass with the following:
“Bomb threat: I received phone call on my city cell at 10:48 a.m. this morning. The male caller stated that ‘he was tired of the city support of Israel, and he has decided to place a bomb in City Hall. It might be in the rotunda.’ I immediately contacted the chief of staff of LAPD, they are going to send a number of officers over to do a search of the building and to determine if anyone else received a threat.”
The DOJ stated that Williams never received such a call and that he made the threat himself.
“At no time did Williams intend to carry out the threat,” the DOJ said in a news release.
Response and investigation
Los Angeles Police responded to City Hall, searched the building, and found nothing suspicious.
Williams showed investigators a call on his phone from a blocked number. Prosecutors say that call was placed by Williams himself using the Google Voice app on his phone.
“Like many, we were shocked when these allegations were first made, and we are saddened by this conclusion,” Zach Seidl, a spokesperson for Mayor Bass, said in May.
Despite admitting responsibility, Williams has not offered any explanation for his actions. He’s scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 6, 2025.
