Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s home ‘is raided by FBI’, as progressive lawmaker faces recall over soaring crime

The FBI has raided the home of controversial Oakland mayor Sheng Thao, local media report.

The Democratic lawmaker’s home on Maiden Lane was raided around 5:30 a.m. PT on Thursday. CBS San Francisco reports.

It’s unclear why the property was raided, but according to public records, it appears Thao is renting the house.

“The FBI is conducting court-approved law enforcement activities on Maiden Lane. We cannot provide any additional information at this time,” the agency said Thursday morning.

A neighbor told me ABC7 News that she woke up to authorities banging on her door around 6 a.m.

According to a law enforcement source, this raid is just one of four locations in Oakland that will be searched by the FBI.

A photo of her home was seen surrounded by several unmarked, black vehicles parked on the street.

The FBI also raided the Oakland home of Andy Duong, a prominent Vietnamese businessman.

Duong and his family own Cal Waste Solutions, a recycling company that has been investigated for contributions to the money laundering campaign to several City Council members, including Sheng Thao, according to The Oaklandside.

Sources tell DailyMail.com that the mayor’s first official trip last year, to Vietnam, was co-sponsored by the Vietnamese American Business Association, which was founded by a member of the Duong family, leading to speculation that the FBI may is investigating allegations of influence peddling.

The raid took place around 5.30 am, sources said. It started when two jeeps approached the mayor’s house and several FBI agents in bulletproof vests jumped out.

They ran to the mayor’s door and announced they were from the FBI. They stood behind a shield and then kicked in the door. They stayed in the house for the next few hours.

The mayor did not show up to a pre-scheduled 10 a.m. news conference in San Francisco where regional officials were there to support an affordable housing bond on the November ballot, sources said.

At another community event this morning in Oakland, Thao’s assistant Brandon Harami was asked about the raid and said he knew nothing about it, sources said.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that Thao will face a recall election as voters complain about rising crime in the Bay Area city.

They say her progressive, soft-on-crime policies have emboldened criminals and driven out businesses.

Thao will face a historic recall election in November amid anger over her failure to get a handle on the situation in Oakland.

The progressive Democratic lawmaker is the first mayor in the city’s history to face recall after a campaign to oust her gathered more than 40,000 signatures.

“In just a year, Thao’s incompetence and dishonesty has accelerated Oakland’s decline, forcing old businesses to close and generational families to leave,” according to the Oakland United to Recall Sheng Thao (OUST) campaign website.

Critics are also angry that she missed the opportunity to apply for a $15 million shoplifting grant, fired Oakland Police Chief LaRonne Armstrong “without cause” without naming a successor, and fired the baseball team from Oakland A lost.

They also accused her of lying about declaring a state of emergency to deal with the crime wave that paralyzed the city.

Oakland has been rocked in recent months by violent crime, including homicides, which rose from 78 in 2019 to 126 last year.

Crime increased by a total of 18 percent in 2023, with property crime increasing by 17 percent and violent crime by 21 percent.

And in the first four months of 2024, home robberies increased by 118 percent compared to the same period last year.

Astonishingly, one car per 30 residents was also stolen in 2023.

The situation has prompted several major companies to withdraw from the city, citing fears for staff safety and the crippling effects of shoplifting.

On Tuesday, a Florida family dropping off their son in town for college had their rental car looted. The traumatized parents and their family have now fled the city and withdrew their son from studying there.

In August, a particularly disturbing video showed an innocent woman being dragged along the ground by two male robbers after she tried to stop them.

The Oakland area’s only In-N-Out Burger restaurant closed after 18 years, despite still making a healthy profit, because customers and staff were “unsafe” due to rising crime rates, the company said.

The local Denny’s has also closed its doors, while Taco Bell is refusing to allow indoor dining following a rash of incidents.

Earlier this year, Kaiser, PG&E, Clorox and Blue Shield announced they were putting $10 million of their own money into additional safety measures for their employees, while the city did nothing.

Thao’s opponents blame her progressive policies for skyrocketing crime.

This included a bizarre proposal suggesting that life coaching could help tackle murders and other crimes.

The plan was proposed as part of the city’s ceasefire plan, which had been waning until Thao took office.

“You have created a public safety crisis by systematically dismantling the Oakland Police Department, which has led to the city’s reputation as one of the most dangerous in America,” OUST wrote in a statement to the embattled mayor.

“In short, you lack the competence, credibility, judgment and ability to lead what was once a great American city.”

“Lives have been lost, property destroyed, businesses closed, and fear and collective trauma are daily occurrences for Oaklanders. We, the concerned citizens, therefore demand your recall in the interest of the future of our city.”

The mayor has previously condemned the increase in crime, stating that the increase in 2019 began before her term.