The mayor of Oakland was defiant saying she is “innocent” and confused about a recent FBI raid on her home as she fights to keep her political seat in the Bay Area.
“I want to be crystal clear, I have done nothing wrong. I can tell you with confidence that this investigation is not about me. I have not been charged with a crime and I am confident I will not be charged with a crime because I am innocent,” Sheng Thao said during a Monday press conference.
On Thursday, FBI agents descended onto Thao’s home which she shares with her partner and family as well as three other properties associated with the family that runs California Waste Solutions – a company that collects recyclables for the city.
It is unclear what or who the target of the federal investigation is – or what Thao’s role may be, if any.
Though Thao defiantly proclaimed her innocence, the FBI raid is just the latest in a series of events that have led to public unease about her. The Oakland mayor, who is the first Hmong American mayor of a major city in the U.S., is also facing a recall vote in November.
Just two days before the FBI raid, a recall effort – largely led by a retired Alameda County Superior Court judge – qualified for the November ballot.
The group supporting the recall says Thao is responsible for the city’s rising crime rates. Robberies in the city grew 38 percent last year while motor vehicle theft jumped 44 percent, according to police data. Violent crime in the city rose 21 percent between 2022 and 2023.
On Wednesday alone, 15 people were shot after a street takeover overshadowed a peaceful Juneteenth celebration.
The group attributes Thao’s firing of Black police chief LeRonne Armstrong and her administration’s failure to apply for a state-funded grant to combat retail theft as contributing factors to rising crime.
The Oakland mayor called the recall campaign “a waste of time and public resources” on Monday.
But she assured constituents that she plans to remain “100 percent transparent” and “cooperate fully” with the federal investigation while casting doubt over the timing of the FBI raid.
“I want to know why the day following the qualification of a recall election funded by some of the richest people in the Bay Area seemed like the right day to execute a warrant,” Thao said.
She also questioned what probable cause the FBI had to execute the search warrant, how members of the media “knew” to show up at her street to capture footage of the raid and why Fox News and Breitbart “were so prepared.”
Thao ended her emotional speech by saying she would “not be threatened” out of her office and would “fight” seemingly to keep her position.
