Mar-a-Lago supporters mourn FBI search as extremism leads

The online response to the FBI's search of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago property has been swift and ominous, with predictions of a resurgence of extremism and even fears of a civil war.

A convoy of local and national media have far outnumbered Trump supporters for the last 24 hours outside the 17 acre Palm Beach estate Tuesday.

A couple of dozen Trump boosters converged on the site late Monday as news of the FBI's action broke, but by the morning even those meager ranks had begun to dwindle, and they had not picked up by 5 p.m.

Eric Johnson, a South Florida-based Democratic political consultant, said that this is a great national story, a huge national story. But the voters are going about their business. I don't think it matters one iota in local elections. They're talking about inflation or whether beaches have too much erosion. A source familiar with the matter said that Monday's search was tied to classified information Trump was alleged to have taken with him from the White House in January 2021.

Trump blasted the search as politically motivated in a written statement Monday.

These are dark times for our nation, as my beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided and occupied by a large group of FBI agents, he said in a lengthy email released by his Save America political committee.

Trump had decamped the estate for a scheduled event in Bedminster, New Jersey, leaving the supporters to gather outside a mostly empty property Tuesday.

Those who turned out noticedably spanned the racial and ethnic spectrum, including supporters wearing Blacks for Trump, Chinese Americans for Trump and Latinos for Trump gear.

Nelson Marti, 67, said he drove for nearly two hours from Hialeah, just outside Miami, to support the former president.

I think the FBI has lost credibility, and what the Department of Justice is doing is disgusting - they crossed a line, Marti said. He predicted that Trump would sweep back into power in 2024.

Marti said that we want everyone to know that we support him and that we have got his back.

Palm Beach County is not safe for Republicans like Trump. The county voted for Joe Biden in 2020, even though Trump won over more affluent precincts. The county's mayor is a Democrat, as is Lois Frankel, the area's congressional representative.

The Hialeah contingent proved to be substantial. On hand was the onetime Hialeah mayoral candidate, Fernando Godo, 56. He said a mass gathering from Miami was being organized for Saturday.

Godo said he was the real president of the United States. He blasted Democrats as socialists and described the FBI's search as a violation of Trump's constitutional rights.

Godo said it was not good for the country. Vanessa, 24, a Palm Beach County resident who didn't give her last name, spent the afternoon walking her dog Lucy while gawking at the proceedings.

She said she doesn't know what they're here for. It is a little weird to have it so close to me, but I am excited to see everything here.