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Monday, August 19, 2024
DC councilman known for antisemitic conspiracy theories arrested on bribery charge
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A Washington, DC, councilmember known for promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories has been arrested on charges that he accepted over $150,000 in bribes in exchange for using his elected position to help companies with city contracts, according to court records unsealed today.
Trayon White Sr., a Democrat who ran an unsuccessful mayoral campaign in 2022, was arrested on a federal bribery charge by the FBI yesterday. He is expected to make his initial court appearance today.
An FBI agent’s affidavit says White agreed in June to accept roughly $156,000 in kickbacks and cash payments in exchange for pressuring government agency employees to extend two companies’ contracts for violence intervention services. The contacts were worth over $5 million.
White, 40, also accepted a $20,000 bribe payment to help resolve a contract dispute for one of the companies by pressuring high-level district officials, the affidavit alleges.
In 2018, White was the subject of significant backlash after posting a video saying that there is a “model based off the Rothschilds controlling the climate to create natural disasters.” He was nevertheless reelected two days later, and is up for reelection again this year.
The Times of Israel Community.