Ex-LA deputy mayor used Google Voice to fake bomb threat, prosecutors say

A former Los Angeles deputy mayor is expected to plead guilty Friday to a felony charge for reporting a fake bomb threat to City Hall last year.

The fake bomb threat, it turns out, was coming from his personal phone. 

Brian K. Williams, 61, of Pasadena, agreed to plead guilty to the felony charge, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

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.

About 10 minutes later, Williams sent a text message to Bass and several high-ranking city officials 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."

Williams then sent additional text messages to Bass and other city officials stating, "At this time, there is no need for us to evacuate the building, I'm meeting with the threat management officers within the next 10 minutes. In light of the Jewish holidays, we are taking this (threat) a little more seriously. I will keep you posted."

LAPD officers responded to City Hall to investigate the threat Williams reported. Police searched the building and did not locate any suspicious packages or devices. Williams described to police the threatening call he claimed to have received, showed them the record of an incoming call that appeared as a blocked number on his city-issued cell phone and said it was the unknown man who conveyed the threat, court papers show.

In fact, that incoming call record was the call Williams had placed to himself from the Google Voice application on his personal cell phone, federal prosecutors said.

“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.”

At no time did Williams intend to carry out the threat, his plea agreement filed in Los Angeles federal court states.

Williams quietly retired from city government in April and prior to that, when the FBI began an investigation into the bomb threat, he was placed on administrative leave.

"Like many, we were shocked when these allegations were first made and we are saddened by this conclusion," Zach Seidl, a spokesperson for Bass, said last month.

Williams joined Bass' office in March 2023. He was tasked with working closely with critical safety departments such as police, fire, Los Angeles World Airports police, and emergency. Prior to his appointment, Williams served seven years as the executive director of the Los Angeles County Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission.

Williams also previously served as a deputy mayor under Mayor James Hahn, where he was responsible for the management and oversight of the Department of Transportation, Public Works and Information Technology Agency.

"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," Akil Davis, the assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, said in a statement.

"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."

Additional reporting by City News Service.