In a tearful speech, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao pleaded not guilty Monday, speaking for the first time since federal authorities raided her home last week.
The Bay Area city's first Hmong mayor presented herself as a victim, not a criminal, in the investigation and tried to link the “FBI intrusion,” as she called it, to a recall campaign that sought to remove her from office. position in November.
“I want to be very clear. I haven't done anything wrong. “I can tell you with confidence that this investigation is not about me,” Thao said during the 10-minute speech.
The FBI has not revealed what prompted the raid, but it coincided with a second raid on the home of Andy Duong, one of the members of the Duong family, owner and operator of Cal Waste Solutions, which has been under investigation by an ethics panel. from the city for campaign contributions. to Thao et al.
Thao appeared frustrated and shed tears during the news conference as she recounted the fear she felt when officers entered her home Wednesday.
“It's hard to imagine now, but at the time the first thing I thought was that the FBI was at my door to help me, to protect me,” the mayor said.
Thao quickly linked the FBI raid to a recently launched campaign to have him removed from office. The day before the raid, the Alameda County Registrar of Voters announced there were enough signatures to place Thao's recall on the November ballot. Thao is the first Oakland mayor to face a recall vote. The effort has been led by a former Alameda County Superior Court judge whom Thao removed from the city's Police Commission.
The recall effort comes as the city battles a rise in crime.
The crime problem has led several high-profile businesses to close locations in the city, including In-N-Out Burger and Denny's.
In February, Gov. Gavin Newsom sent 120 Highway Patrol officers to Oakland to bolster the police presence in the city.
During the press conference, Thao tearfully spoke about her fight to overcome poverty in the United States. She questioned why the FBI did not contact her and seek her voluntary cooperation before raiding her home.
“This would not have happened the way it did if I were rich, if I had attended elite private schools or if I had money,” she said.
Thao was elected in the fall of 2018 when she won a seat on the City Council, representing residents of the 4th District, which includes neighborhoods such as Montclair, Laurel and Melrose.
