© XThao's home on Maiden Lane was seen surrounded by multiple unmarks, black vehicles parked on the street
The Democrat lawmaker's home on Maiden Lane was raided around 5:30 am PT Thursday, CBS San Francisco reports.
It is unclear why the property was raided, but according to public records, it appears Thao rents the home.
'The FBI is conducting court authorized law enforcement activity on Maiden Lane. We are unable to provide additional information at this time,' the agency said on Thursday morning.
A neighbor told ABC7 News that she woke up to authorities banging on her door around 6 am. According to a law enforcement source, this raid is just one of four locations in Oakland that will be searched by the FBI.
A picture of her home was seen surrounded by multiple 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 over laundering campaign contributions to various member of the City Council 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 formed by a member of the Duong family, leading to speculation that the FBI may be investigating allegations of influence peddling.
The raid took place around 5:30 a.m., sources said. It started when two Jeeps pulled up to the mayor's house and several FBI agents in bullet proof vests jumped out. They ran to the mayor's door, announced they were FBI. Standing behind a shield, they then kicked the door in. They remained at the house for the next couple hours.
© City of OaklandSheng Thao is also facing historic recall election in November amid anger over her failure to get a grip on the crime situation in Oakland
At another community event this morning in Oakland, Thao's aide Brandon Harami was asked about the raid and said he knew nothing about it, sources said.
Earlier this week, it was revealed Thao is facing a recall election as voters complain about soaring crime in the Bay Area city. They say her progressive, soft-on-crime policies have emboldened criminals and driven away businesses.
The progressive Democrat lawmaker is the first mayor in the city's history to be up for recall, after a campaign to oust her gained more than 40,000 signatures.
'In just a year, Thao's incompetence and dishonesty accelerated Oakland's decline, causing longstanding businesses to close and generational families to leave,' the Oakland United to Recall Sheng Thao (OUST) campaign website stated.
Critics are also angry that she missed an opportunity to apply for a $15 million retail theft grant, fired Oakland Police chief LaRonne Armstrong, 'for no cause' without appointing a successor and lost the Oakland A's baseball team.
They also accused her of lying about calling a State of Emergency to deal with the crime wave crippling the city.
Oakland has been rocked by violent crime in recent months, including murders, which have soared from 78 in 2019 to 126 last year.
Crime overall increased by 18 percent in 2023 with property crime up 17 percent and violent crime up 21 percent.
And in the first four months of 2024, residential robberies soared by 118 percent on the same period last year.
Staggeringly, one car per every 30 residents was also stolen in 2023.
The situation has prompted several large corporations to pull out of the city, citing fears for staff safety and the crippling impact of retail theft.
On Tuesday a Florida family dropping their son off in the city for college enrollment had their rental car ransacked. The traumatized parents and their family have since fled the city and withdrawn their son from studying there.
In August one particularly disturbing video showed an innocent woman being dragged along the ground by two male muggers after trying to fight them off.
Oakland's only In-N-Out Burger restaurant in the area closed after 18 years, despite still turning a healthy profit, as customers and staff were 'unsafe' due to soaring crime rates, the business said. The local Denny's also shut its doors, while Taco Bell refuses to allow indoor dining amid a spate of incidents.
Earlier this year, Kaiser, PG&E, Clorox and Blue Shield announced they were plowing $10million of their own cash into added security measures for their employees amid inaction from the city.
Thao's opponents blame her progressive policies for the skyrocketing crime. Among them was a bizarre proposal which suggested life coaching could help tackle homicides and other crimes. The scheme was suggested as part of the city's ceasefire plan which had been dwindling until Thao took office.
'You created a public safety crisis by systematically dismantling the Oakland Police Department, leading to the city's reputation as one of the most dangerous in America,' OUST wrote to the embattled mayor in a statement.
'In short, you lack the competency, credibility, judgment and ability to lead what was once a great American city.'
'Lives have been lost, property destroyed, businesses have shut down, and fear and collective trauma are daily occurrences for Oaklanders. We, the concerned citizens, therefore demand your recall for the sake of our city's future.'
The mayor has previously decried the increase in crime, stating that the uptick began in 2019 before her tenure.
Therefore, I am saddened that In-N-Out burger closed it doors in Oakland. It is an excellent fast food burger franchise. Hopefully some of the others in California survive.