FBI arrests Washington City Councilman who accused Jewish donors of ‘climate manipulation’ in 2018

The FBI arrested a Washington, DC city councilman on Sunday, but the circumstances of the case are not yet clear.

City Council President Phil Mendelson confirmed that fellow council member Trayon White Sr. was arrested Sunday afternoon.

“I've spoken to several people. I can confirm that he was arrested by the FBI around 2 a.m.,” Mendelson told a reporter from WTTG. “I'm eager to get more details to understand the situation. … They all know as much as I do.”

Fox News has reached out to the FBI's Washington field office, which declined to comment at this time.

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White made national headlines in March 2018 when he claimed that Jewish financiers controlled the weather. To support the claim, he filmed himself driving through snowy downtown Washington and ranting about “climate manipulation.”

“And DC always talks about, 'We're a resilient city.' And that's a model based on the Rothschilds controlling the climate to create natural disasters that they can pay to own the cities, man,” he said in the now-deleted video. “Be careful.”

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The FBI arrested Washington DC City Council member Trayon White Sr. on Sunday. (Getty Images)

The Rothschilds, a European Jewish banking family descended from Mayer Amschel Rothschild, have been the subject of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories for centuries, including allegations that they control the world's financial institutions and manipulate world events to their advantage.

White initially defended his comments, saying, “The video says what it says,” but later apologized to the Jewish community.

In addition to his comments about the Rothschilds, White also tweeted at prominent anti-Semitic Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan in 2013, saying he was “honored” to share a birthday with Farrakhan. He added, “I have to respect his intelligence, will and audacity.”

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Trayon White Sr., a member of the Washington, DC City Council, was arrested by the FBI on Sunday. (Twitter)

White later came under fire in 2018 after it was reported that he donated $500 to a Nation of Islam convention in Chicago, where Farrakhan attacked “powerful Jews” as his enemies and made other derogatory remarks.

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“I'm not resigning, I'm not backing down, I'm not discouraged, I'm not depressed, so bring as many media stories as you want because my people will support me,” White said at the time when facing backlash.

Fox News' Sara Lechner and Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.