The Department of Justice (DOJ) is celebrating a win due to a guilty plea submission by a former member of a California city official.

United States federal prosecutors announced on Thursday that a former deputy mayor of Los Angeles will enter a guilty plea for reporting to law authorities that a bomb had been placed in city hall the previous year, as Breitbart News reported.

During the month of October 2024, Brian K. Williams, who was appointed to the position of deputy mayor of public safety, was charged with one count of the felony offense of making a threat to use explosives.

Because of the nature of the charge, the maximum possible penalty is ten years in federal prison.

Williams' infraction

On October 3, 2024, Mayor Karen Bass and other high-ranking city officials got a text message from Williams informing them that he had just received a call from someone who threatened to explode city hall, according to the prosecution. Williams allegedly took part in relaying the message to them.

“The male caller stated that ‘he was tired of the city's support of Israel, and he has decided to place a bomb in City Hall. It might be in the rotunda,” Williams wrote in the text, according to prosecutors.

Because of the message in question, the Los Angeles Police Department, police were dispatched to conduct a search of the building.

Prosecutors said that the police did not find any suspicious packages or devices during their search.

More police misdirection

Williams claimed to have received a call on his city-issued cellphone from the individual who had made the bomb threat, but the number was already blocked. He then showed this call to the officers.

Prosecutors claim that Williams personally made the call using his personal phone and the Google Voice app.

After the event in December 2024, Williams' residence was combed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He was subsequently placed on administrative leave.

The next few weeks will see whether Williams will make an appearance in a federal courtroom in the heart of Los Angeles.

From DOJ officials

“In an era of heated political rhetoric that has sometimes escalated into violence, we cannot allow public officials to make bomb threats,” said United States Attorney Bill Essayli.

“My office will continue its efforts to keep the public safe, including from those who violate their duty to uphold the law.”

Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office also commented on the plea, saying, “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.

“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.”