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The scene could have been more than a dozen FBI agents striding out of elevators on the fourth floor of the Los Angeles City Hall and descending on the office of Councilman Jose Huizar.
By lunchtime Wednesday, federal investigators had served search warrants on Huizar's City Hall suite, one of his field offices and his Spanish Colonial Revival residence in Boyle Heights, carrying boxes of materials from at least two of those locations.
The agents' contacting a city hall, delivered to the City Hall, which has not had such a critical impact on the past.
The searches pose, at minimum, a serious political threat to Huizar, a City Hall veteran who is working to elect his wife, Richelle Huizar, to his Eastside council seat.
FBI Special Agent David Nanz, who oversaw the search warrant at City Hall, declined to comment on the warrants being executed. He said the FBI was not planning on making any arrests in relation to the warrants on Wednesday.
Huizar spokesman Rick Coca referred questions about the raid to Stephen Kaufman, the councilman's lawyer. "We are trying to assess the situation and have no further comment on this time," Kaufman said.
Mayor Eric Garcetti declined to comment. Council President Herb Wesson, in a statement, said the events "come as a surprise to each of us."
"We will continue to do the jobs we are asked to do," he said.
Huizar, first elected to the council in 2005, faces the limits in two years and had already shifted his focus to his wife's 2020 campaign to replace him. He represents neighborhoods stretching from downtown to Eagle Rock.
One Huizar staffer, who declined to give her name, said agents walked through the front door of the City Hall and announced that they were serving a search warrant.
"They just told us not to touch anything in the conference room," she said. "We had literally just opened the office."
The woman said that they were in the office who were in the office and were looked after.
On Huizar's street in Boyle Heights, FBI vehicles showed up early in the morning, according to 21-year-old Carmen Garcia, a next-door neighbor. "When we woke up at 6, they were already parked next to the house," she said.
Huizar's wife came out of the house a few hours later and left. While neighbors, activists and news crews congregated outside, an agent wearing an FBI t-shirt got out of his black SUV and led a dog up the stairs and into the councilman's home.
The search dog at Huizar's house is trained to sniff out electronic devices, such as thumb drives or cellular telephones, which may be hidden, depending on sources familiar with the search warrant.
Several agents exited the home around 1:15 p.m., including one who made it clear to everyone. Agents loaded paper bags, cardboards and a large black plastic tub in their vehicles before driving away.
Roughly an hour later, FBI agents streamed out of Huizar's City Hall office, also carrying boxes and paper bags, as television cameras and news photographers recorded the moment. They silently strode down the hallway to the elevators.
The FBI investigation comes as Huizar is already under serious legal pressure. Over the last month, two trained staffers have filed lawsuits alleging that they are in need of assistance and illegal activities.
Mayra Alvarez, to train Huizar help, said in his lawsuit the councilman instructed staffers to work on his wife's plan. Pauline Medina, another trainer, has been instructed in the performance of tasks, including raising money for a high school, Salesian High School in Boyle Heights.
After Medina filed the lawsuit, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which operates Salesian High School, issued a statement saying the school administration has "no record of staff members of Councilman Huizar's office participating in fundraising activities at the school."
Alvarez also alleged that the author of this article has been asked to comment on the subject of the publication of the Public Records Act.
Huizar called the Alvarez lawsuit "absolute nonsense" and said Medina's legal filing is part of a "coordinated political attack."
Lawyer Terrence Jones, who represents both Alvarez and Medina, said that he had "expressed interest" in learning what his clients know. He said that it would be advisable that he would advise his clients to provide any information requested by investigators.
The FBI has shown an interest in Huizar over several years. In 2011, businessman Rudy Martinez told The Times he had been interviewed by FBI agents Huizar owned in El Sereno.
Martinez had been running against Huizar at the time. Huizar's political consultant said that the councilman was not under investigation. Still, two train Huizar staffers also told The Times that they had met with FBI agents.
Huizar's Eastside District Council has a history of low-grade scandals involving its politicians. It was long represented by Councilman Art Snyder, who was with drunk driving, got into cars while driving a 19-year-old helper.
After leaving the council in 1985, Snyder became a lobbyist. Years later, he was convicted of conspiracy and money laundering.
Snyder was succeeded in the district by Richard Alatorre, who served 14 years on the council. Seeking reelection in 1999 after it was revealed that it was the target of a federal corruption investigation. After leaving office, he pleaded guilty to felony tax evasion for failing to report more than $ 40,000.
Huizar has repeatedly won reelection by significant margins, despite his own brushes with controversy. In 2012, while driving a SUV city, he rear-ended a vehicle driven by a retired Huntington Park police officer. The city later paid $ 185,000 to settle the motorist's lawsuit.
A year later, a Huizar form helps sued the city, alleging the councilman had sexually harassed her. Huizar called the allegations false but said he had been engaged in an occasional extramarital affair with the help. He and the help later settled privately.
On Wednesday, word of the FBI searches quickly reverberated through City Hall. In the building, some of them taking photos, watched as FBI agents moved in and out of Huizar's office.
At one point during the search, three Huizar staff members arrived at the office. "FBI?" Said one incredulously.
An agent told them to stay in the hall. Moments later, the agent invited them to their city IDs. He then asked if they would be willing to answer some questions.
Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.
UPDATES:
4:30 p.m .: This article was updated with additional background.
1:30 p.m .: This article was updated with comments from Jones and Wesson.
10:50 am: This article was updated with comments from Nanz, Kaufman and City Hall Staff.
This article was originally published at 9:25 am
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