FBI agents raided the home of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao early Thursday morning, removing several boxes of belongings.
Officers served arrest warrants at Thao’s home on Maiden Lane in the city’s Lincoln Highlands neighborhood around 5:30 a.m.
In an emailed statement to CBS News Bay Area, the FBI said, “The FBI is conducting court-authorized law enforcement activities on Maiden Lane. We are unable to provide any additional information at this time.”
KPIX
Just after 10 a.m., several FBI agents emerged from the house carrying boxes as news crews staked out positions across the street. It is unclear what the officers were looking for and what was seized.
The FBI also served an arrest warrant for at least one other property in the area, a home on Viewcrest Court in the city’s Ridgemont neighborhood. It was not immediately confirmed that the raids were linked.
CBS News Bay Area reached out to Mayor Thao’s office for comment on the raids. Thao was not present Thursday morning at a planned news conference in San Francisco on affordable housing with the mayors of San Francisco, San Jose and Berkeley.
KPIX
The raids come two days after Alameda County’s voter registration drive announced that there were enough signatures for a petition to recall Thao from office to move the process forward.
Proponents of a recall blame the mayor because they are not doing enough to fight crime which has run many companies Unpleasant close to the city. They also blame Thao for the city failure to apply for millions of dollars in state money to combat retail crime.
Thao was also criticized for it firing former police chief LeRonne Armstrong and not hiring a replacement for more than a year.
This is a breaking news update. More information will be added when available.
