The policy statement on the “use of deadly force,” which appeared in an
operations order for the Mar-a-Lago search, is not evidence of a plot to kill Trump. It is a
Department of Justice policy that is standard to include in such documents.
“The FBI followed standard protocol in this search as we do for all search warrants, which includes a standard policy statement limiting the use of deadly force,” the agency said in a statement. “No one ordered additional steps to be taken and there was no departure from the norm in this matter.”
As it appears in the operations order, the policy stipulates in part that Department of Justice officers “may use deadly force only when necessary, that is, when the officer has a reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to the officer or to another person.” The policy is in the department’s
Justice Manual with only minor differences in wording to what is included in the order and is summarized
on the FBI’s website.