Many Americans see FBI as 'Biden's Gestapo' in new poll
Following the raid on Donald Trump's Florida home, a new poll indicates that public support for the FBI is dwindling.
The FBI raid on former US President Donald Trump's winter resort home in Mar-a-Lago has increased the number of people who believe President Joe Biden is using the G-men as his "personal Gestapo".
In a new poll, more than half of respondents see the FBI as Biden's "personal Gestapo", reflecting increasingly polarized views on the federal policing agency's pursuit of Trump.
A Rasmussen poll released on Thursday showed that Americans' attitudes toward the FBI are deeply divided, with 44% saying the recent raid on Trump's Florida home caused them to lose trust in the bureau. A significant 29% said the move only increased their trust in the FBI, while 23% said it made no difference according to RT.
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Regarding previous comments made by former Trump advisor Roger Stone, who said "politicized thugs at the top of the FBI" are using the agency as "Joe Biden's personal Gestapo", a majority (53%) agreed, including 34% who concurred "strongly".
The 53% figure is up from 46% last December, although a more recent survey found that 36% disagree with Stone’s characterization. The results were divided along party lines, with 76% of Republicans and 37% of Democrats agreeing on the label "Gestapo".
Federal raid on Trump's Florida home
The federal raid on Trump's Florida home on August 8 was centered on a probe into classified documents allegedly taken from the White House, some of which were said to be top-secret and even potentially related to nuclear weapons, with the bureau hoping to recover 11 different sets of materials from the residence, according to officials and an unsealed property receipt.
However, it is unclear what was discovered during the search, and unnamed sources cited by NBC recently stated that agents would need time to sift through the seized files.
Trump, for his part, has accused the FBI of conducting a politicized raid and claiming that the agency "stole" his passports and privileged legal documents "which they knowingly should not have taken," despite the fact that the passports have since been returned.
The former President's lawyers were not allowed to observe the search of his property, and FBI agents allegedly ordered them to turn off security cameras while it was taking place.
Read next: Trump suggests FBI 'planting' evidence at Florida residence