BLM-supporting DC councilmember Trayon White arrested by FBI in $156,000 bribery scheme

The criminal complaint accuses White of agreeing to receive the money in exchange for using his office to pressure government employees at the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement and DYRS to maintain government contracts.

White made a court appearance on Monday without entering a plea and was released from police custody, NBC News reports. He is due back in court on Sept. 19. White is the chairman of the city council’s committee on Recreation, Libraries and Youth Affairs which has several responsibilities, including the city’s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services.

The contracts that White allegedly was bribed to keep extending are worth $5.2 million and were held by two companies that deliver violence prevention services in the district.

White allegedly received the $156,000 in four different payments and it was about three percent of total contract worth. The deal with the owner of the two companies was captured on video, according to the complaint.

“Both public trust and integrity in elected officials is critically important. We are still trying to gather facts at this time,” DC Council President Phil Mendelson said in a statement.

“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.” Axios' Cuneyt Dil reported.

“DC Councilman Trayon White - infamous for claiming Jews control the weather - has been arrested on charges of taking $150,000 in bribes. Breaking911 posted. In 2018, White came under fire for posting a video to his official Facebook page claiming that snowfall in the region was caused by "Rothschilds controlling the climate."

"Man, it just started snowing out of nowhere this morning, man. Y’all better pay attention to this climate control, man, this climate manipulation," he said in the video. "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 is a supporter of Black Lives Matter, and in one April 2021 post was seen protesting for the release of drug kingpin Tony Lewis. Lewis and a group of others were arrested in 1989 for running a crack cocaine operation in the region. He was sentenced to life in prison but was released in March of 2023.

White was also seen posting his support of former President Barack Obama speaking "on real issues facing the African American community," as well as boosting a "reward" set by the New Black Panthers for the capture of George Zimmerman who was accused of and charged with the murder of Trayvon Martin, but acquitted of the charges in 2013.

Following the death of George Floyd in 2020, White was seen applauding DC Mayor Muriel Bowser's decision to rename a portion of the road leading to the White House "Black Lives Matter Plaza." He said this was a "much-needed statement to those who wish to promote injustice across this country."

Sen. Bob Menendez, a Democratic senator, was recently found guilty of bribery and resigned his senate seat.