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Amid federal bribery charges, Trayon White was sworn in as the Ward 8 representative on the D.C. Council in Southeast Friday afternoon.
The room was largely empty until moments before the event was scheduled to start. Then, a large group of community members entered the R.I.S.E. Demonstration Center, escorting White to the stage on the way to their seats.
It’s been almost a year since the FBI arrested White on federal bribery charges, accusing him of accepting kickbacks in exchange for granting certain groups city contracts. He was expelled from the Council in a unanimous vote, but ran in the special election for his old seat and won.
Speaking to the crowd, he vowed to emphasize health care and make sure seniors in Southeast communities have access to housing. Some watched wearing neon shirts that said, “IM WITH TRAY.”
“I’m excited to be here today, but more excited that God ain’t finished with me yet,” White said. “This may be a reelection, but I know I got a long way to go.”
White said the FBI is after him, and that they want to “not just arrest me, but I believe they want to kill me.” He declined to elaborate during a gaggle with reporters after the swearing in.
White is scheduled to go on trial in January. After an independent investigation found he violated city and council rules, he was expelled from the council by a unanimous vote. Ward 7 Council member Wendell Felder, who issued the oath of office, was the only other council member in attendance for Friday’s event.
Officials alleged White accepted more than $150,000 in exchange for influencing city contract decisions for violence intervention services. Authorities said the there’s video surveillance of the transaction.
White said Friday that after leaving a recent meeting at someone’s house, he learned the FBI knocked on the person’s door the next day.
“This ain’t nothing light,” White said.
But during his remarks Friday, White said his campaign for the most recent election cycle was called “unfinished business.” He stressed the importance of making sure hospital facilities are “serving the people it’s designed to serve” and “ensuring that we are not leaving our senior citizens behind right here in the great Ward 8.”
White said while he wants the council to consider some changes, he supports a new stadium at the old RFK site. The first vote on the project was taken with the Ward 8 seat vacant.
In response to President Donald Trump boosting law enforcement presence across the D.C. after a Department of Government Efficiency staff member was injured in an apparent attempted carjacking, White said, “We don’t need federal interference.”
A spokeswoman for Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said he is out of the country, has no comment on White’s swearing in, and there have not been any discussions about restrictions or discipline.
Jauhar Abraham, who was wearing one of the neon shirts supporting White, said White is “the only person in the Wilson Building that really understands the culture of the people that has been unrepresented, people that don’t have a voice in our city.”
Calique Barnes, meanwhile, said the swearing in ceremony “shows me that despite what you go through, you’re able to continue to push forward.”
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