Why did the FBI authorize 'deadly force' for a raid at Mar-a-Lago?

An unsealed court filing in March revealed that when the FBI raided the home of former President Trump at Mar-a-Lago, they authorized “deadly force” as part of the Justice Department’s probe into Trump’s retention of classified documents.

The filing sparked outrage from the Trump campaign and many on the right.

But Andy McCarthy, former federal prosecutor and Fox News Channel contributor said the claim that President Biden authorized the use of lethal force in connection with the FBI’s execution of a court-authorized search “is political red meat for conspiracy theorists.”

“A search warrant is not a day at the circus (something I can’t say about days spent at the trial),” McCarthy wrote in an op-ed published on FoxNews.com

“Most are executed without incident; many are not. All of them involve a probable-cause finding that incriminating evidence will be recovered on the premises – which usually are associated with people suspected of crimes,” he said.

“All search warrants involve the possibility of forced entry. All of them involve police seizures of property, which can subject the personnel involved to legal risks as well as safety risks,” he said.

“As a result, and as a matter of common sense, the FBI always has an operational plan for carrying out a court-authorized search. That plan customarily involves reminding the search teams of the FBI’s use-of-force policies. Those policies, of course, include a refresher on the conditions under which lethal force may be used. This is to prepare law-enforcement officials for contingencies that are all too familiar, and to protect the agency and agents in the event of later legal claims,” he said.