FBI director condemns threats to agents after raid on Trump's Mar-a-Lago
Law enforcement sources told ABC News threats against FBI agents are increasing.
Answering questions at the FBI Omaha, Nebraska field office, FBI Director Christopher Wray said Wednesday he couldn't talk about FBI agents searching Mar-a-Lago, the home of former President Donald Trump, but did say that he is "always concerned" about the threats to law enforcement.
"Well, as I'm sure you can appreciate that's not something I can talk about," Wray said, becoming the first senior Justice Department official to decline to comment on the record and on camera about the search of the former president's estate.
Multiple sources confirmed to ABC News that former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate was raided by FBI agents on Monday.
The sources told ABC News that the search began at around 10 a.m.
The former president put out a statement Monday evening saying federal investigators were there and that they had even gotten into his safe.
It is standard Justice Department practice to not comment on ongoing investigations.
There is an uptick in violent threats against rank and file FBI agents in the wake of the raid, senior law enforcement officials told ABC News.
While not directly addressing those threats, Wray said any threat against law enforcement is cause for concern.
"Violence against law enforcement is not the answer, no matter what anyone is upset about," Wray said. "In the last few years we've had an alarming rise in violence against law enforcement."
The director said it takes a "special person" to sacrifice his or her life for a stranger, and that is what law enforcement officers, including FBI agents, do every day.
When asked for more specifics on the threats against FBI agents, the FBI offered a generic statement and provided no details.
"The FBI is always concerned about violence and threats of violence to law enforcement, including the men and women of the FBI," an unnamed FBI spokesperson said in an e-mail to ABC News. "We work closely with our law enforcement partners to assess and respond to such threats, which are reprehensible and dangerous. As always, we would like to remind members of the public that if they observe anything suspicious to report it to law enforcement immediately."
As a reminder, Wray was appointed by former President Trump in 2017, and has not been outspoken on many controversial issues.
The President of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) called the recent threats against FBI agents in the wake of the raid on Mar-a-Lago "politically motivated threats of violence" and "unprecedented," in a statement Wednesday.
"Levying threats against apolitical federal employees simply applying the law to the facts of a case it not a democratic way to solve anything. It is also illegal," Larry Cosme said. "An investigation will not occur unless there are allegations of violations of the law and will not progress unless there is evidence of wrongdoing."
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