The FBI director has called death threats against federal agents “regrettable and dangerous” after supporters of Donald Trump used violent rhetoric online following the raid on the former president’s Mar-a-Lago home.
Christopher Wray, who was appointed director of the FBI in 2017, said “violence” against the FBI and Justice Department staff “is not the answer.”
Authorities monitoring social media posts are reporting a significant increase in death threats against FBI agents, its director Wray, and Attorney General Merrick Garland, according to Fox News.
“I’m always concerned about law enforcement threats,” Wray said Wednesday. “Violence against law enforcement is not the answer no matter who you get angry at.”
Wray made the remarks after a news conference during a long-planned visit to the agency’s field office in Omaha, Nebraska, where he discussed the FBI’s focus on cybersecurity.
He declined to answer questions about FBI agents’ hour-long search of Trump’s resort in Palm Beach, Fla. on Monday.
Following an increase in threats against Wray, Garland, their employees, they are considering steps to improve their security.
Both Wray and Garland already travel with armed security guards. But there are discussions to step up protections as violent rhetoric circulates online.
Reports indicate a surge in online death threats against Attorney General Merrick Garland (left) and FBI Director Christopher Wray after agents searched Mar-a-Lago
The search was reportedly related to the National Archives and Records Administration, which is tasked with preserving presidential records that belong to the public
Mar-a-Lago is closed in summer. Its well-heeled members generally leave Florida for cooler places, only returning for the winter. Trump was in New York on Monday
Ever since Trump himself announced a search of his Florida home, the threats and calls to arms have been easy to find in far-right corners of the internet.
Reactions included the ubiquitous “lock and load” and calls for the assassination of federal agents and even Garland.
On Gab – a social media site popular with white supremacists and anti-Semites – a poster named Stephen said he was waiting for the “call” to start an armed revolution.
“One phone call is enough. And millions will arm themselves and take back this country. It will be over in less than 2 weeks,” the post said.
Another Gab poster implored others: “Let’s get started! This unelected, illegitimate regime has crossed the line with its GESTAPO raid! It’s about time the liberal socialist filth was cleaned out of American society!’
Elsewhere, senior conservatives also stepped up their abuse of federal agencies.
“I will support a complete dismantling and elimination of the Democratic Brown Shirts known as the FBI,” wrote Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gosar, comparing federal agents to the Nazi party.
“This is too much for our republic.”
The unprecedented search marked a significant escalation in the federal investigation into whether Trump illegally removed records from the White House when he left office in January 2021. Trump continues to publicly flirt with running for president again in 2024, but has not made it clear if he will do so.
The warrant was related to the National Archives and Records Administration, which is tasked with keeping public records of the president, and whether there were classified documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., according to a person familiar with the thing.
The person said the FBI took about 10 boxes of papers, but a safe that was searched was empty.
Since then, Trump’s team has been bombarding people on his mailing list with appeals for donations.
They have used fiery rhetoric and allegations of conspiracy against Trump to solicit money.
“Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States, and it’s important for you to know that it wasn’t just my home that was hurt — it’s been the home of every patriotic American I’ve fought for since that iconic moment when I died in 2015 came down the Golden Escalators,” Trump said in a donation email.
“I opposed the corruption of the radical left. I have given power back to the people and truly done for our country in a way we have never seen before. The establishment hated it.
“Now that they’re seeing my supported candidates winning big and seeing my dominance in all the polls, they’re trying to stop the Republican Party and me again.”