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FBI agents were authorized to use deadly force when they raided former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in August 2022 looking for classified documents, newly unsealed court documents revealed Tuesday.
Agents in the Aug. 8 raid were directed to seize “classified information, [National Defense Information], and US Government records,” according to an Operations Order produced in discovery as part of Trump’s criminal case in Florida.
The order included a “Policy Statement” that said “Law Enforcement officers of the Department of Justice may use deadly force when necessary.”
In reaction to this news, an indignant Trump wrote on Truth Social Tuesday afternoon that “JOE BIDEN IS A SERIOUS THREAT TO DEMOCRACY” and “MENTALLY UNFIT TO HOLD OFFICE.”
Agents were advised to come armed with a “standard issue weapon,” “ammo,” “handcuffs” and “medium and large sized bolt cutters.” They were told to conceal this “law enforcement equipment, according to the court filings.
Under “Contingencies,” agents were directed to “be prepared to engage” with the former president and his Secret Service team should they arrive at Mar-a-Lago (MAL) during the raid.
They were also directed to go door to door and search MAL guest rooms if a list of occupied guest rooms wasn’t provided. Agents brought lock-picking equipment for the occasion.
The FBI even had a medic on the scene for anyone “injured” during the raid, and had identified the nearest trauma center in case someone was seriously injured.
Trump’s lawyers, Todd Blanche and Christopher Kise called the FBI’s 10-hour search “unconstitutional,” and said agents targeted Mar-a-Lago’s gym and kitchen, as well as the bedroom suite of former first lady Melania Trump and the bedroom of their teenage son Barron Trump.
“The Mar-a-Lago raid was executed in an egregious fashion and in bad faith,” Blanche and Kise wrote.
Agents allegedly found classified documents in a basement storage room, Trump’s office, and rooms adjacent to the office.
The Biden regime claims that Trump illegally removed the documents from the White House, while the former president insists he did nothing wrong.
In June 2023, Special Prosecutor Jack Smith indicted Trump on 37 criminal counts related to the alleged retainment of more than 100 classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and lies told to his lawyer and federal authorities.
Trump’s entire response on Truth Social to the new revelations:
“WOW! I just came out of the Biden Witch Hunt Trial in Manhattan, the “Icebox,” and was shown Reports that Crooked Joe Biden’s DOJ, in their Illegal and UnConstitutional Raid of Mar-a-Lago, AUTHORIZED THE FBI TO USE DEADLY (LETHAL) FORCE. NOW WE KNOW, FOR SURE, THAT JOE BIDEN IS A SERIOUS THREAT TO DEMOCRACY. HE IS MENTALLY UNFIT TO HOLD OFFICE — 25TH AMENDMENT!”
The FBI said in a statement to Fox News: “The FBI followed standard protocol in this search as we do for all search warrants, which includes a standard policy statement limiting the use of deadly force. No one ordered additional steps to be taken and there was no departure from the norm in this matter.”
