All it takes is a word from the leader to set the brains of his followers on fire. Since Donald Trump announced on Monday, August 8, on his Truth Social social network that his “beautiful home” in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, had been “besieged and raided” by the FBI, supporters of the former President of the United States are furious and, as usual, violently let it be known. This Thursday, August 11, a certain Ricky Shiffer, present during the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, wanted to avenge Donald Trump by shooting at an FBI office in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was shot dead by police forces, but the message he left on the Trumpist social network calls on all members to arm themselves to “end the tyranny of the authorities”, and this is an impossible threat to neutralize. Indeed, this call was very quickly relayed, and many posts calling for the assassination of federal agents or even the Attorney General of the United States are circulating at the moment. Faced with this outpouring of hatred, the head of the FBI, Christopher Wray, appointed by Trump in 2017, said he was “concerned” and called on Internet users to reason: “Violence against law enforcement is not not the answer, no matter who you’re mad at.”
Already, at the time of the search of Mar-a-Lago, they were hundreds, American flags and pro-Trump signs in hand, shouting their anger against what they consider to be political relentlessness. At least that’s what Donald Trump told them, and that’s enough to be true. While he is already at the heart of two investigations – one concerning his role in the assault on the Capitol, the other for suspicions of financial fraud via the Trump Organization – here is a third added. The latter, which led to the search, aims to find out if the former president took with him documents classified as confidential when he left the White House. Last January, fifteen boxes had already been returned to the authorities, but many are still missing. It doesn’t matter for his supporters, who seem to like him more after each new pursuit. No need for a line of defense, the voice of the president and that of the Fox News television channel spending their time denouncing “the political instrumentalization of corrupt institutions”. On the front line, the Biden administration, which, worried about Trump’s newfound strength, would seek to harm him by all means.
Faced with this dangerous popular opposition, the Department of Justice felt compelled to justify its action. The attorney general in charge of the case says the decision to raid the home of a former president was not ‘a decision taken lightly’ and that he would have settled for a less ‘intrusive’ operation , if the situation allowed it. But the case is serious, and it is not new, Donald Trump having spent his mandate degrading documents which should have been transmitted to the national archives. To prove the professionalism of his department, Merrick Garland even announced that he had filed a motion for the search seals to be lifted. The evidence under the nose, would the supporters of Donald Trump change their mantra? Surely not, the former president having already accused the FBI agents of having “placed evidence against him”. He can count on his supporters, always united in adversity. There is still a whole other America to inform.
