You’re going down in flames, you tax-fattened hyena! (#135 in a series)

I would like to remind everyone that the “flames” in “you’re going down in flames, you tax-fattened hyena” are metaphorical, not literal. Most of the time.

Why do I feel a need to put that reminder out there?

A deputy mayor of Los Angeles had his home raided by the FBI yesterday.

“A questionable LA politician? Quel fromage!” I know, right? But the reason is interesting, and you will rarely (I hope) see this combination of categories together.

The deputy mayor is suspected of phoning in a bomb threat to City Hall. He was…

…appointed in February 2023 to oversee public safety in Los Angeles. The role, the mayor’s office said at the time, would include oversight of the Police Department, the Los Angeles Fire Department, the Port of Los Angeles Police, the Los Angeles World Airports Police and the Emergency Management Department.

So he has close ties with law enforcement. According to the report, the LAPD initially determined that he was the likely originator of the threat, but turned the case over the FBI because of his law enforcement ties. (I would also think that bomb threats, especially ones against municipal buildings, would fall under Federal purview. But I Am Not A Lawyer.)

Additional coverage from the LAT, but it really doesn’t add much.

I’m not naming him here, even though he is named in the articles, because he hasn’t been charged with a crime yet and is entitled to the presumption of innocence. Honestly, though, making a bomb threat is a pretty stupid crime. These days, phone calls and other electronic communications are easily traceable. Unless you’re very very careful and practice good OPSEC and COMSEC, you’re going to get caught. I think most bomb threats these days are phoned in by teenagers who wouldn’t know OPSEC and COMSEC if it walked up and bit them. Which is generally what happens.

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