(LibertySons.org) – California native Sheng Thao grew up in poverty and had a challenging life during her younger years. She took that experience and co-founded a food access program for students before graduating from college and entering politics. Her first election put her on the City Council, and her constituents elected her mayor of Oakland in 2022. But that position didn’t come without its troubles.
Just days after her constituents gained enough signatures to possibly recall the mayor, the FBI raided her home in the Oakland hills. Mayor Sheng Thao (D) responded to the raid, insisting that she had “done nothing wrong” and wouldn’t be “threatened out of [her] office.” She reportedly made the public speech about the raid with anger and fighting through tears but didn’t take any questions.
The mayor said she has “not been charged with a crime” and won’t be because she is “innocent.” Thao also made it clear that she plans to cooperate with investigators. At the same time, she questioned the timing of the raid because it was so soon after the recall qualified for ballot inclusion this November.
While it’s unclear what federal authorities were looking for at the mayor’s residence, reports say the agents left Thao’s California home with several boxes and duffle bags. The mayor said this all wouldn’t be happening to her the “way it did if [she was rich” or attended “elite private schools.”
Also noteworthy is the fact that the mayor doesn’t live alone in her residence. She shares her home with an Oakland council member’s former chief of staff, Andre Jones, her partner. It’s unclear who the raid target was, but Thao’s home wasn’t the only residence targeted. The FBI reportedly conducted raids of several homes in the area of those tied to Oakland’s contracted recycling company.
California Waste Solutions Chief Executive David Duong recently stated that his company was cooperating fully with the investigation.
~Here’s to Our Liberty!
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