The FBI arrested District of Columbia Councilmember Trayon White for allegedly accepting more than $150,000 in bribes in exchange for helping companies obtain city contracts, according to court records that were unsealed on Monday.
White garnered headlines in 2018 when he appeared to suggest that the Rothschild family controls the weather and other areas of society, a well-known antisemitic conspiracy theory.
The authorities allege White committed a myriad of offenses related to bribery and using his position of influence to grant favors for various business interests, according to an affidavit filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
White allegedly accepted a $20,000 bribe from a Confidential Human Source (CHS) in exchange for using his position to resolve a contract dispute between the source’s company and the District of Columbia. In a text message, White allegedly referenced an attempt to coerce a government employee to resolve the issue, according to the affidavit.
“Last time we was trying to do something like this… that shit messed up my relationship… because I was going… I ain’t gonna lie because we was trying to get [Government Employee 1] to do something and he agreed to do it and he just never responded,” the document reads.
In another instance that occurred in 2024, White allegedly agreed to accept approximately $156,000 in kickbacks from CHS 1 to ensure the renewal of multiple contracts for the individual’s companies with the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE) and the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS). The councilmember allegedly “reported that he had followed up with Government Employee 2 but that he/she was not very helpful,” and “To circumvent Government Employee 2, WHITE said that he had contacted two DYRS employees.”
White and the source agreed that he should receive a three percent kickback on each contract, according to the affidavit.
At another point in 2024, White received four bribe payments from CH 1 totaling about $35,000 in exchange for more help with securing contracts, the document alleges.
White has served on the district’s council since 2017 and represents a predominantly black ward. The poverty rate is twice as high as the entire district.
The councilmember, in 2018, filmed a video he later posted on Facebook where he claimed the snowy weather was a result of the Rothschild family’s machinations.
D.C. Council member Trayon White Sr. (D-Ward 8) posted the video to his official Facebook page at 7:21 a.m. as snow flurries were hitting the nation’s capital. The video, shot through the windshield of a car driving west on Interstate 695 through downtown Washington, shows snowy skies while White narrates.
“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 says. “And D.C. 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.”
Antisemitic conspiracy theories related to the Rothschild family have a long and dark history rooted in deep-seated myths that have been perpetuated for centuries. The Rothschilds are a wealthy and influential Jewish banking family that originated in Frankfurt, Germany, in the 18th century. As the family achieved more financial success, the conspiracy theories grew more pervasive.
Over time, suspicions about the family evolved into more elaborate conspiracy theories often fueled by anti-Jewish sentiments aimed at painting the Jewish people as manipulative and power-hungry.
Some have accused the family of financing wars to profit from both sides, manipulating global markets, and even orchestrating the Napoleonic Wars and other events to amass more power and wealth. Despite these narratives being repeatedly debunked, they have persisted in numerous forms.
