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Former LA deputy mayor gets probation for fake City Hall bomb threat
Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Brian K. Williams delivers a speech during the graduation ceremony for an LAPD recruit class in 2024.
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Myung J. Chun
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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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Topline:
Former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Brian Williams was sentenced on Monday to one year of federal probation and 50 hours of community service after pleading guilty to calling in a fake bomb threat to City Hall, an act he said stemmed from mental health issues.
The backstory: Williams pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to a single count of making threats regarding fire and explosives. He called his city-owned cellphone using Google Voice on his personal phone to say he was going to bomb City Hall over its support of Israel, according to prosecutors. He then told police of the call, prompting the bomb squad to conduct a search.
Prosecutors said there was no evidence Williams intended to carry out the threat.
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Mental health: Williams was desperate to get out of an ongoing virtual meeting when he made the threat, according to prosecutors. “It was motivated not by a political agenda or violent extremist ideology, but rather by defendant’s acute personal stress and anxiety due to numerous factors,” prosecutors wrote in a pre-sentencing memo. Williams’ mother and nephew had died and his brother was diagnosed with cancer in the 18 months prior to the incident.
His career: Williams served as deputy mayor for public safety under Mayor Karen Bass, working on police and fire issues. Previously, he served as executive director of the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission, as a deputy city attorney and as a deputy mayor under Mayor James Hahn. Prosecutors said Williams’ behavior was “misguided and dangerous but it was also an aberration."
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