Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has become the unofficial punching bag of the left, with her views, comments, and no-nonsense agenda the frequent target of liberals and the media alike.
Her most recent claim came in the form of a post on X, where she wrote that the Department of Justice was “planning to assassinate” former president Donald Trump during their raid on Mar-a-Lago. She said she warned Trump, and of course, Trump ran with it on his social platform, Truth Social.
Of course, the media considered it the rantings of a woman known for bizarre rants. But in this case, MTG wasn’t entirely wrong.
Newly unsealed documents in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s classified documents case against Donald Trump reveal that the FBI had the authorization to use deadly force during the raid, even if the former president showed up at the scene.
The documents outlined the plans for the raid, which included 25 Miami FBI agents, an unidentified person from FBI Headquarters, the assistant U.S. Attorney from the Southern District of Florida, a DOJ attorney, and several Washington FBI agents.
Trump was absent during the raid, but his son, Barron, and his wife, Melania, were home. The FBI was permitted to invade guests’ rooms during the raid if the staff didn’t cooperate and turn over keys to their rooms.
The FBI was also instructed on how to handle Trump if he came home during the raid, and the invaders had a medic on standby in case things went south. The team was given instructions on how to get to a local trauma center, and the team was instructed on how to “engage” with Secret Service Agents and the former President.
Greene wondered precisely how the FBI planned to use deadly force and where the permissions stopped. “Were they going to shoot the Secret Service, then President Trump, Melania, and Barron too?” she pondered in her social media posts.
The former president’s motion challenging the legality of the FBI’s raid notes revealed an ‘Operation Order’ during discovery. This order includes a ‘Policy Statement’ about the ‘Use of Deadly Force,’ stating that ‘Law enforcement officers with the Department of Justice may use deadly force when necessary…’. The filing also mentions that agents planned to bring handcuffs, ammo, standard issue weapons, and bolt cutters but were instructed to wear “unmarked polo or collared shirts” and to make sure “law enforcement equipment” was concealed.
The FBI was quick to note that including the pages regarding the use of deadly force “if necessary” is standard protocol for search warrants. The agency stated that no one ordered any “additional steps” to be taken during the Mar-a-Lago raid. The agency claims the language limits the use of deadly force. The operations order states that Department of Justice officers may use lethal force only when they reasonably believe the person poses an imminent threat of death or severe injury to the officer or others. This policy is part of the department’s Justice Manual with minor wording differences and is summarized on the FBI’s website.
Frank Figliuzzi, a former assistant director at the FBI, confirmed in a post on X what the agency stated. He wrote that every FBI operations order includes a reminder of the FBI’s deadly force policy., “even for a search warrant.” He adds that lethal force is always authorized if the necessary threat arises.
But the Biden DOJ has already proven that there is nothing they won’t do to stop Trump’s domination over the President at the polls. With dictatorship-styled lawfare already interfering with the upcoming 2024 election, it’s entirely plausible that the FBI was hoping for the use of lethal force against a resistant Trump.
MTG reigns supreme under the media spotlight for her determined efforts to see justice done, mainly through calls for the impeachment of corrupt officials throughout the Biden administration.
But she has a point. There was no reason, outside of protocol, for the FBI to include any language about “lethal force” while raiding a private residence to uncover some documents. Trump is many things, but being physically violent is not one of them.
Every exaggeration has a grain of truth. While the FBI didn’t authorize the assassination of Trump, there’s little doubt that Democrats would have been ecstatic if it had happened.
