Former U.S. President Donald Trump said FBI agents have raided his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
“My beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents,” Trump said in lengthy statement Monday evening.
“After working and cooperating with the relevant government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate,” he said.
Trump did not say why the raid took place. The Justice Department did not immediately comment on Trump’s statement.
The former president accused the government of “prosecutorial misconduct,” saying the raid amounts to the “weaponization of the Justice System.”
“Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before,” he said.
Trump said FBI agents even broke into the safe in his home.
The developments come as Trump has been preparing for a potential presidential run in 2024, possibly setting himself up for a rematch against President Joe Biden. He accused Democrats of “desperately” not wanting him to run again.
The Justice Department has been investigating the removal of official presidential records to Trump’s Florida estate at the conclusion of his presidency. It is not clear if the raid has anything to do with that investigation.
Trump has previously said he agreed to return certain records to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, calling it “an ordinary and routine process.”
The Justice Department also has been investigating efforts by allies of Trump to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
The department has not announced whether it will seek criminal charges against Trump in that investigation.
Some information in this report comes from The Associated Press and Reuters.
