Former President Donald Trump faced a swift and thorough fact-check on Tuesday after he raged about a new court filing that indicated the FBI was authorized to use deadly force when executing a search warrant at his Mar-a-Lago country club in 2022. Trump told his followers on Truth Social that the filing was proof of a political conspiracy against him, orchestrated by his political opponent in the upcoming election, President Joe Biden.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) escalated the situation by claiming this was a planned hit on Trump. She stated, “The Biden DOJ and FBI were planning to assassinate Pres Trump and gave the green light. I made sure that he knew.” Greene’s comments added fuel to the already intense political firestorm surrounding Trump.
However, experts quickly debunked these claims. Former FBI Assistant Director Frank Figliuzzi clarified, “Yep, every FBI operations order contains a reminder of FBI deadly force policy. Even for a search warrant. Deadly force is always authorized if the required threat presents itself.” Figliuzzi’s explanation emphasized that the language in the search warrant was standard procedure and not indicative of any special plot against Trump.
Huffington Post White House correspondent S.V. Dáte also weighed in, stating, “That is standard language in search warrants. They are, after all, dealing with suspected felons.” This comment reinforced that the deadly force policy is a routine part of FBI operations and not unique to Trump’s case.
Former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) responded directly to Greene’s assassination comments, pointing out the procedural nature of the search. “Trump wasn’t there,” Walsh wrote. “Everything was coordinated with the Secret Service & local law enforcement. Even for you, this is a deeply irresponsible and dangerous thing to say.” Walsh’s remarks highlighted the coordination and safety measures in place during the search, further discrediting Greene’s claim.
Even some right-wing commentators acknowledged that the hysteria over the “deadly force” verbiage was unfounded. Right-wing talk radio host Breanna Morello wrote, “I did some digging into the ‘deadly force’ verbiage that was used in court documents regarding Trump’s classified documents case. Since 2000, every FBI Operations plan has had the ‘Deadly Force Policy’ section pre-filled in. All federal agents are authorized to use Deadly Force in accordance with this policy. I’m told this is nothing unique and is pretty standard.”
These clarifications and debunkings underscore the routine nature of the FBI’s deadly force policy and dismantle the conspiracy theories propagated by Trump and Greene. Despite the attempts to frame the standard procedural language as evidence of a political plot, the facts remain clear and consistent: the FBI’s actions were in line with their established protocols, and the claims of an assassination plot hold no factual basis. This incident highlights the ongoing need for careful scrutiny and fact-checking in the face of sensational political claims.