FBI raid on Oakland mayor’s home sparks calls for resignation from groups, leaders

Several hours after the FBI raided the home of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, a small group of protesters had gathered there, calling for her to resign. 

“The people are asking Mayor Thao to resign to save herself and the city from further embarrassment,” according to Edward Escobar of the Coalition for Community Engagement. “We cannot trust this failed mayor nor her council buddies who enable and empower her to destroy the city. “

The dozen protesters on Thursday evening were outnumbered by media representatives from local and national outlets staking out the mayor’s two-story home at 80 Maiden Lane in Oakland’s Lincoln Highlands neighborhood.

Early Thursday morning, FBI agents showed up at Thao’s home and at least three other Oakland properties associated with the owners of a recycling company that contracts with the city.

The FBI agents were seen leaving the mayor’s home around 10 a.m. after loading boxes into multiple vehicles.

Thao has not responded to requests for comment on Thursday.

The FBI raid was the second blow in as many days for the mayor. On Wednesday, organizers of an effort to recall Thao said they had enough valid signatures to place her ouster on the November ballot. 

Oakland United to Recall Sheng Thao leaders said they received a notice from the city Tuesday that a sampling of the 40,595 signatures they turned in shows enough are valid to place the recall on a ballot.   

FBI spokesperson Cameron Polan said Thursday, “The FBI is conducting court authorized law enforcement activity on Maiden Lane. We are unable to provide additional information at this time.”

A spokesperson for Thao referred questions to the FBI and a representative for California Waste Solutions, the company whose executive officers — David and Andy Duong — were also the subject of FBI activity Thursday morning, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Two homes associated with the Duongs, along with an office building in Oakland, were all also raided, FBI officials confirmed.

While the FBI didn’t reveal the nature of the investigation, this isn’t the first time that Thao’s name has been associated with the Duongs. 

According to an Oakland Public Ethics Commission official, Andy Duong and Cal Waste Solutions are the subjects of an ongoing investigation into alleged illegal campaign contributions. 

Those contributions were allegedly laundered through third parties and given to multiple candidates, including Thao, and an investigation was launched in 2019, said Simon Russell, chief of enforcement for the Ethics Commission.

Russell said he can’t comment on whether the Ethics Commission referred its investigation to the FBI. 

Leaders weigh in

Thao hasn’t issued a statement since the raid, but some local leaders are expressing shock while others are calling for the embattled mayor to step down. 

The city was already reeling from a shooting the night before that injured more than a dozen people during a Juneteenth celebration near Lake Merritt.

“As for this morning’s FBI raids, I share the shock felt my many, and I call on all of us to remain focused on the important work of realizing a safe, connected and thriving town,” Oakland City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas said Thursday evening on X. 

The city has “a cloud hanging over it today,” according to Cynthia Adams, president of the Oakland branch of the NAACP.

“While the public should refrain from a rush to judgment, the leadership of the NAACP and its members are calling on Mayor Sheng Thao to resign immediately and spare the city the cost of a recall,” Adams said in a statement Thursday night.

“Oaklanders deserve a mayor who is not distracted, fully committed, and able to lead the city. Clearly, Mayor Thao cannot focus on the needs of the residents of Oakland while she addresses the major challenges posed by the FBI raid and investigation,” Adams said.

The NAACP has been critical of the mayor in the past, attributing a surge in local crime to Thao’s firing of former police chief LeRonne Armstrong in February 2023.