(PALM BEACH, FLA) — Former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate was raided by FBI agents early Monday. Around 30 agents stormed the Palm Beach estate including a safe cracker who opened a safe that reportedly was empty. The raid is even more shocking in that Donald Trump may also be the future president.
Agents reportedly removed 15 boxes of documents that Trump took to Mar-a-Lago when he departed the White House.
Eric Trump is confirming the FBI raid of his father’s Florida estate was conducted over potentially classified documents sought by the National Archives.
The younger Trump says his father was cooperating with the FBI on this matter and that “as president his father had the power to declassify documents.”
Democratic Congressman Charlie Crist says the raid is part of an effort to end what he called dictators-in-chief. He also suggested that Republican Governor Ron DeSantis could be next. Crist is running for governor, and his opponent in the Democratic primary, Nikki Fried, tweeted out a photo of Crist with Trump. She added that she’s the only candidate for governor who never had a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago.
DeSANTIS: "The raid of [Mar-a-Lago] is another escalation in the weaponization of federal agencies against the Regime’s political opponents, while people like Hunter Biden get treated with kid gloves." https://t.co/NUFML2NxjF pic.twitter.com/aUChePZwo8
— Newsmax (@newsmax) August 9, 2022
Meanwhile, dozens of Trump supporters gathered outside Mar-a-Lago on Palm Beach to protest the raid.
This is the scene near Mar-A-Lago where some Trump supporters have gathered @nbc6 @NBCNewsNow pic.twitter.com/n9jsnKKO1J
— Cristian Benavides (@cbenavidesTV) August 9, 2022
Many of the supporters waved Trump 2020 flags, with one truck displaying 2020 signage with former Vice President Pence’s name crossed out.
The Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office and other local agencies responded to the scene as the crowd grew, and officials say the supporters were peaceful and that no incidents were reported.
The former president put out a statement Monday evening saying federal investigators were there and that they had even gotten into his safe.
Trump was not there at the time of the search. The former president was seen leaving Trump Plaza in New York after news of the raid broke and was reportedly headed to South Florida.
In January, Trump handed over the documents to the National Archives, and attorneys for Trump said they were searching for any more records they may have.
The FBI and Justice Department declined to comment on the “court authorized” raid.