MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

FBI raids Trump's Florida Mar-a-Lago mansion

In Trump's view, these are dark times for the US which has turned into another third-world country

Scores of supporters of former US President Donald Trump gathered Monday around the tycoon's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida after FBI agents reportedly executed a search warrant on the Palm Beach premises.

 According to The Washington Post, the agents were conducting a search in connection with a case filed against the Republican leader for allegedly taking classified documents home after leaving the White House.

“My beautiful Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided and occupied by a large group of FBI agents,” Trump said through his political action committee, Save America.

Trump has also accused the Democratic Party of arming the “Justice system” against him. “Never before has anything like this ever happened to a president of the United States. After working and cooperating with the relevant government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home is neither necessary nor appropriate,” he said in a letter.

The former head of state likened the FBI raid to the Watergate scandal, although in the opposite direction: “Here, in reverse, the Democrats have broken into the home of the 45th president of the United States. Such an assault could only take place in third-world countries. Unfortunately, the US has now become one of those countries, corrupt on a level never seen before,” he added.

In January, the National Archives and Records Administration recovered after two months 15 boxes of documents and other items from the Mar-a-Lago residence that should have been delivered when Trump left the White House. The former president's actions about these files raised questions about whether he would have violated the Presidential Records Act, which requires the preservation of memos, letters, notes, emails, faxes, and other written communications related to the duties of a president.

“These are dark times for our nation,” Trump also pointed out and accused the US Attorney's Office of “misconduct.” He also denounced “the militarization of the justice system” and the “attack by radical left-wing Democrats who desperately don't want me to run for president in 2024.”

Trump also recalled former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “was allowed to delete and acid wash 33,000 emails after they were claimed by Congress” and yet “absolutely nothing has happened to hold her accountable.”

“Lawlessness, political persecution, and witch hunts must be exposed and stopped,” Trump insisted, while some of his supporters drove around. One truck had a large Trump/Pence banner attached, but with “Pence” crossed out, Newsweek reported.