On Monday, August 8, 2022, The Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.), executed a search warrant at former U.S. president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. This warrant was issued as part of an ongoing investigation regarding Trump’s unlawful handling of presidential documents that may have been brought to the resort. The search has sparked complete chaos amongst the former president’s supporters, as they claim the Republican leader is a victim of political oppression. 

According to the Washington AP, months before the Mar-a-Lago raid, the National Archives recovered more than 100 documents containing classified markings, totaling more than 700 pages, from an initial batch of 15 boxes retrieved from Mar-a-Lago. The National Archives is an independent federal agency of the United States government that is responsible for the preservation of governmental and historical records. The New York Times writes that at the time, Trump stated that the return of the documents was a “collaborative and respectful” process, and that it was a “great honor” to work with the National Archives. 

Following this drastic recovery by the National Archives, the F.B.I. had to verify that no documents were left behind after they raided the Mar-a-Lago resort and that each of the items that they collected were checked thoroughly for any hints of illegal activity. 

Back in June, four investigators paid an unusual visit to the property, specifically eager for more information about the potential of classified material being taken from the White House to the Mar-a-Lago property. According to an article by The New York Times titled, “F.B.I. searches Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Residence in Florida,” the former president stopped by a dining room to greet the investigators at the beginning of this impromptu meeting, and then moved along without answering any of their questions. The investigators then turned to Trump’s attorneys to ask if they could see where the documents were being stored. The attorneys led the investigators to the basement room, where boxes of documents and materials were being kept. According to a second source that spoke with The New York Times for this same article, some of the documents contained top secret markings.

On June 8, 2022, only five days after the investigators visited the residence, Trump’s attorneys received a letter from the investigators, asking them to further secure the room in which the boxes were being stored and add a padlock to the door. 

The search itself began exactly three months later on August 8, 2022. Law enforcement officials appeared to be focused on the area of the resort where Trump had his offices and personal quarters. The F.B.I. examined exactly where the documents were kept, along with retrieving many boxes. The former president was at Trump Tower in New York City when the warrant was executed. 

According to CNN, Christina Bobb, former President Trump’s attorney, had said, “President Trump and his legal team have been cooperative with FBI and DOJ officials every step of the way. The F.B.I. did conduct an unannounced raid and seized paper.” Prior to the execution of the raid, there was communication between Trump’s Secret Service and the F.B.I., in which the Secret Service allowed for the F.B.I. to access the estate without any restraints.

The Department of Justice already has two known active investigations connected to the former president. One of the investigations is occurring in an effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election and what occurred at the U.S. capitol on January 6, 2021, while the other involves the handling of classified information and documents. 

By Monday night, a couple dozen supporters of former President Trump had congregated across the street from his Mar-a-Lago residence. Some held the Trump-Pence flag from their 2020 presidential campaign, while others wore Trump’s notorious “Make America Great Again” ball caps. However, their anger over the news that federal authorities had conducted a search of the private resort, and according to a report from CNN, even broke into Trump’s safe, was what truly unified them all. As the week progressed, vehicles full of Trump supporters lined South Ocean Boulevard in Palm Beach, Florida to aggressively express their support for the former president.