Ex-Los Angeles deputy mayor will plead guilty in fake bomb threat to city hall

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A former Los Angeles deputy mayor will plead guilty to reporting a bomb had been placed in city hall last year to law enforcement, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

Brian K. Williams, 31, who was employed as the deputy mayor of public safety in October 2024, was charged with one felony count of making an explosives threat. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

William’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Williams sent a text message to LA Mayor Karen Bass and other high-ranking city officials on Oct. 3, 2024 that he just received a call from someone who threatened to bomb city hall, prosecutors said.

“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.’,” Williams wrote in the text, according to prosecutors. He said he contacted the Los Angeles Police Department, who sent officers to search the building.

Police did not locate any suspicious packages or devices, prosecutors said.

Williams showed officers a call he received from a blocked number on his city-issued cellphone that he said was from the person who made the bomb threat. The call was made by Williams himself through the Google Voice application on his personal phone, according to prosecutors.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation searched Williams’ home in December 2024 in connection to the incident, and Williams was placed on administrative leave.

Williams will appear in federal court in downtown Los Angeles in the coming weeks.