FBI authorized use of “lethal force” during Mar-a-Lago raid to search for classified documents in Trump's possession
The former president harshly criticized the Department of Justice after the fact was revealed. The security agency assured that it is standard practice.
El expresidente Donald Trump sale del juzgado en Nueva York. (AFP)
Court documents revealed Tuesday show that the Justice Department authorized “the use of deadly force” during the August 2022 FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, to search for classified documents in the possession of former President Donald Trump.
According to the operations order, FBI agents were tasked with confiscating “classified information, [National Defense Information], and US Government records.”
To help officers do their jobs, the order contained a “Policy Statement” on the “Use of Deadly Force,” which said, among other authorizations, that “Law Enforcement officers of the Department of Justice may use deadly force when necessary.”
The agents were also authorized to be armed with “Ammo,” “Handcuffs,” and “medium and large sized bolt cutters,” according to the court document revealed as evidence in Trump’s criminal case and his alleged mishandling of classified records.
The FBI defended the procedure at Mar-a-Lago, stating that law enforcement carried out a standard raid.
“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,” the security agency said in a statement sent to Fox News Digital.
However, former President Trump questioned the Department of Justice after leaving court in Manhattan where he faces another criminal trial related to falsifying business records.
“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,” Trump wrote in his Social Truth. “NOW WE KNOW, FOR SURE, THAT JOE BIDEN IS A SERIOUS THREAT TO DEMOCRACY.”
As a result of this case, led by special counsel Jack Smith, former President Trump was charged with 37 felony counts, including willful withholding of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and false statements.
The former president pleaded not guilty to all charges.
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