OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The director of the FBI had strong words Wednesday for supporters of former President Donald Trump who’ve been using violent rhetoric within the wake of his agency’s search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.
Christopher Wray, who was appointed because the agency’s director in 2017 by Trump, called threats circulating online against federal agents and the Justice Department “deplorable and dangerous.”
“I’m at all times concerned about threats to law enforcement,” Wray said. “Violence against law enforcement isn’t the reply, regardless of who you’re upset with.”
Wray made the remarks following a news conference during a long-planned visit to the agency’s field office in Omaha, Nebraska, where he discussed the FBI’s concentrate on cybersecurity. He declined to reply questions on the hours-long search Monday by FBI agents of Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida resort.
It has been easy to search out the threats and a call to arms in those corners of the web favored by right-wing extremists since Trump himself announced the search of his Florida home. Reactions included the ever-present “Lock and cargo” and calls for federal agents and even U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to be assassinated.
An aerial view of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2022, in Palm Beach, Fla. The FBI searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate as a part of an investigation into whether he took classified records from the White House to his Florida residence, people accustomed to the matter said Monday. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
On Gab — a social media site popular with white supremacists and antisemites — one poster going by the name of Stephen said he was awaiting “the decision” to mount an armed revolution.
“All it takes is one call. And tens of millions will arm up and take back this country. It is going to be over in lower than 2 weeks,” the post said.
One other Gab poster implored others: “Lets get this began! This unelected, illegitimate regime crossed the road with their GESTAPO raid! It’s long gone time the lib socialist filth were cleansed from American society!”
The search of Trump’s residence Monday is a component of an investigation into whether Trump took classified records from the White House to his Florida residence, based on people accustomed to the matter. The Justice Department has been investigating the potential mishandling of classified information because the National Archives and Records Administration said it had received from Mar-a-Lago 15 boxes of White House records, including documents containing classified information, earlier this yr.
