A former Los Angeles deputy mayor has admitted to calling a bomb threat into City Hall last year.
Brian Williams will plead guilty to one felony count as part of a plea deal reached with federal prosecutors on Thursday. He faces up to 10 years in prison.
From the Department of Justice:
According to his plea agreement, on October 3, 2024, while serving as Deputy Mayor of Public Safety for the City of Los Angeles, Williams participated in a virtual meeting with multiple people in connection with his official duties. During this meeting, Williams used the Google Voice application on his personal cellphone to place a call to his city-issued cellphone. Williams then left the virtual meeting and placed a call to the Chief of Staff of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). During this call, Williams falsely stated that he had just received a call on his city-issued cellphone from an unknown man who threatened to bomb Los Angeles City Hall.
In fact, Williams received no such call and had made the bomb threat himself. At no time did Williams intend to carry out the threat.
Approximately 10 minutes later, Williams sent a text message to the Los Angeles Mayor and several high-ranking city officials in the Mayor’s office and falsely reported, “Bomb threat: I received phone call on my city cell at 10:48 am 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.” In fact, Williams had not received such a call.
Williams says he never intended to carry out the threat. His attorney said the threat was made as a result of “personal issues” which Williams is working to address.
Prior to his arrest, Williams was a respected public servant. He was appointed as Deputy Mayor for Public Safety by Mayor Karen Bass in February 2023. He had previously served on the county’s Sheriff’s Civilian Oversight Commission and was a deputy mayor under Kenneth Hahn.