In a tearful speech, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao declared herself harmless Monday, talking for the primary time since her home was raided by federal authorities final week.
The primary Hmong mayor of the Bay Space metropolis solid herself because the sufferer — not a legal — within the probe and sought to hyperlink the “FBI intrusion,” as she known as it, to a recall marketing campaign looking for to take away her from workplace in November.
“I need to be crystal clear. I’ve completed nothing mistaken. I can inform you with confidence that this investigation is just not about me,” mentioned Thao through the 10-minute speech.
The FBI has not disclosed what prompted the raid nevertheless it coincided with a second raid on the dwelling of Andy Duong, one of many Duong members of the family who owns and runs Cal Waste Options, which has been underneath investigation by a metropolis ethics panel over marketing campaign contributions to Thao and others.
Thao appeared annoyed and shed tears through the information convention as she recounted the concern she felt when brokers entered her dwelling Wednesday.
“It’s exhausting to think about now, however on the time my first thought was that the FBI was at my door to assist me, to guard me,” mentioned the mayor.
Thao rapidly linked the FBI raid to a marketing campaign launched not too long ago to get her recalled from workplace. The day earlier than the raid, the Alameda County Registrar of Voters introduced that there have been sufficient signatures to place Thao’s recall on the poll in November. Thao is the primary Oakland mayor to face a recall vote. The trouble has been led by a former Alameda County Superior Courtroom choose whom Thao faraway from town’s Police Fee.
The recall initiative comes as town wrestles with a surge in crime.
The crime subject has led to a number of high-profile companies closing places within the metropolis, together with In-N-Out Burger and Denny’s.
In February, Gov. Gavin Newsom despatched 120 Freeway Patrol officers to Oakland to bolster police presence within the metropolis.
In the course of the information convention, a tearful Thao spoke about her wrestle to beat poverty in the US. She requested why the FBI didn’t contact her and search her voluntary cooperation earlier than raiding her dwelling.
“This wouldn’t have gone down the best way it did if I used to be wealthy, if I had gone to elite personal faculties or if I had come from cash,” she mentioned.
Thao was elected within the fall of 2018 when she gained a seat on the Metropolis Council, representing residents of the 4th District, which incorporates neighborhoods akin to Montclair, Laurel and Melrose.
