DC Councilmember Trayon White Sr. was arrested by FBI officers on Sunday on federal bribery charges, with allegations that he accepted $156,000 in cash payments, according to an announcement by the Justice Department on Monday.
The criminal complaint claims that White agreed to receive the money in exchange for leveraging his office to pressure government employees at the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement and the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS) to maintain certain government contracts.
White made a court appearance on Monday but did not enter a plea. He was released from custody and is scheduled to return to court on September 19, as reported by NBC News. White chairs the city council’s committee on Recreation, Libraries, and Youth Affairs, overseeing several responsibilities, including the city’s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services.
DC City Council chairman Phil Mendelson’s office telling me “Both public trust and integrity in elected officials is critically important. We're trying to gather the facts at this time.”
— Beatrice Peterson (@MissBeaE on all platforms) (@MissBeaE) August 18, 2024
When I asked about the arrest FBI declined to comment.
The contracts involved in the alleged bribery are valued at $5.2 million and were held by two companies providing violence prevention services in the district. The complaint states that White received $156,000 in four separate payments, amounting to roughly three percent of the total contract value. The deal between White and the owner of the two companies was reportedly captured on video.
Feds allege Ward 8 D.C. Council member Trayon White took $156,000 in bribes in exchange for using his position to influence government contracts. In these pictures from June 26, feds allege White met in a contractor's car and took an envelope of cash. pic.twitter.com/ntGDHXX5fV
— Cuneyt Dil (@cuneytdil) August 19, 2024
DC Council President Phil Mendelson emphasized the importance of public trust and integrity in elected officials, stating, “We are still trying to gather facts at this time.”
Axios’ Cuneyt Dil reported that federal authorities allege White accepted $156,000 in bribes to influence government contracts, noting that White was seen in photos from June 26 receiving an envelope of cash in a contractor’s car.
White, who has previously made controversial statements, including a claim that Jews control the weather, was arrested on charges of accepting $156,000 in bribes. In 2018, White sparked outrage by posting a video on his official Facebook page, suggesting that snowfall in the region was caused by “Rothschilds controlling the climate.”
In the video, White said, “Man, it just started snowing out of nowhere this morning, man. Y’all better pay attention to this climate control, man, this climate manipulation… And DC keep talking about, ‘We a resilient city.’ And that’s a model based off the Rothschilds controlling the climate to create natural disasters they can pay for to own the cities, man. Be careful.”
White has been a vocal supporter of Black Lives Matter and was seen in an April 2021 post protesting for the release of drug kingpin Tony Lewis. Lewis, arrested in 1989 for running a crack cocaine operation, was sentenced to life in prison but was released in March 2023.
White has also expressed support for former President Barack Obama, praising him for addressing “real issues facing the African American community.” He also supported a “reward” offered by the New Black Panthers for the capture of George Zimmerman, who was acquitted in the 2013 trial for the death of Trayvon Martin.
Following George Floyd’s death in 2020, White applauded DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s decision to rename a portion of the road leading to the White House as “Black Lives Matter Plaza,” calling it a “much-needed statement to those who wish to promote injustice across this country.”
The arrest of Trayon White Sr. follows a similar scandal involving Senator Bob Menendez, who was recently found guilty of bribery and subsequently resigned from his Senate seat.