A view of Los Angeles City Hall. (Getty Images)
The threat was carried out on Oct. 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 cellphone to place a call to his city-issued cellphone.
He then left the meeting and called the chief of staff of the Los Angeles Police Department, in which he 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.
Ten minutes after the call, Williams texted Bass 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."
Investigators determined that Williams never received a call and had made the bomb threat himself. Federal prosecutors noted that Williams never intended to carry out the threat.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, left, then-Deputy Mayor of Public Safety Brian K. Williams and LAPD Chief Michel Moore at LAPD Police Academy on Dec. 7, 2023 in Los Angeles. Williams will plead guilty to threatening to bomb the City Hall building last year, the Justice Department said. (Getty Images)
"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," said Akil Davis, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office. "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."
Williams is expected to appear in court in the coming weeks, prosecutors said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Bass' office.
Louis Casiano is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to louis.casiano@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/karen-basss-former-deputy-mayor-public-safety-admits-bomb-threat-hoax-targeting-los-angeles-city-hall