Attorney General Merrick Garland has recently criticized former President Donald Trump’s assertion that the FBI was prepared to kill him during the Mar-a-Lago search, labeling the claim as “extremely dangerous.”
Trump made this false claim in a fundraising email sent on Wednesday, alleging that Joe Biden was prepared “to take me out” in connection with the discovery of classified documents at his residence. The email further stated that either Biden or the Justice Department had “authorized to shoot” Trump.
Garland addressed and refuted these allegations during a press briefing on Thursday.
“That allegation is false, and it is extremely dangerous,” Garland emphasized. “The document referred to in the allegation is the Justice Department’s standard policy, which limits the use of force.”
He added, “As the FBI advises, this is part of the standard operations plan for searches and was even applied during the consensual search of President Biden’s home.”
The law enforcement protocol in question, mentioned in Trump’s email, permits the use of deadly force only “when necessary” and specifically when an individual poses an imminent threat of death or serious physical injury to an officer or another person.
Trump was not present during the FBI’s search of his Mar-a-Lago estate on August 8, 2022. This absence was strategically planned to prevent any potential confrontation.
The FBI has reiterated that it adhered to standard procedures during the search, as it does with all searches. A notable deviation from the norm was that the officers conducting the search wore polo shirts and khakis to avoid attracting attention at the resort.
“No additional steps were ordered, and there was no deviation from standard protocol in this matter,” the FBI previously stated to The Hill.
The FBI confirmed that the standard policy on the use of deadly force included in the Mar-a-Lago search was also applied to the operations order for the search of President Biden’s residence in Delaware, underscoring that this is standard practice for all FBI operations.
Trump’s accusations come as he attempts to have the charges against him in the classified documents case dismissed.