U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Thursday that he "personally approved" the search warrant for former President Donald Trump's home in Florida, emphasizing that there was "probable cause" for the unprecedented step.

Garland condemned the "baseless attacks" targeting the integrity of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, recorded after the raid carried out at Trump's home in Mar-a-Lago on Monday, explaining that federal agents searched Trump's Florida property to investigate whether he had unlawfully removed records from the White House upon leaving office.

Garland said, "Upholding the rule of law means applying it equally without fear or favor... This is exactly what the Department of Justice is doing under my supervision."

Garland's statement is considered the first official U.S. comment since the FBI raid on Trump's resort, especially as the White House Press Secretary refused to comment last Tuesday on whether Garland was behind this raid.

A report published by The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday revealed that FBI forces left Trump's home carrying 10 boxes of papers and some other documents.

The newspaper pointed out that this incident highlighted many details and statements about the activities of the former U.S. president regarding documents related to his presidential term.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg agency stated that Trump had a special mechanism he used for keeping records during his presidency, where he piled some of them, tore others, and disposed of some documents he wanted to completely hide in the White House toilet.

In this context, CNN network revealed that these documents were discovered later when a technical team was called to fix clogged toilets in the White House. However, Trump denied the news at the time in a statement, saying these reports and information were fabricated.

According to The Washington Post, some advisors stated that Trump had mishandled documents for years and mostly resorted to tearing them. They added that he took boxes of materials with his family that should have gone to the National Archives, and the archives discovered some materials missing during cataloging.

It is noteworthy that the Presidential Records Act of 1978 stipulates that all official papers of the president are public property and he is not permitted to handle them after his term, but they must go to the National Archives.

Trump accused, without providing any evidence, the Democrats of using the "justice system" as a weapon against him, and Republican lawmakers attacked the raid, pointing out that this invasion was a politically motivated attack aimed at obstructing Trump's chances if he ran for presidency again.

The criticisms directed at the search operation sparked a wave of threats and anti-law enforcement criticisms on social media and elsewhere, alongside threats against the federal judge who approved the search warrant request.

In this context, Garland defended the FBI saying it "will not stand idly by when its integrity is unfairly attacked."

He added: "They protect the American people every day from violent crimes, terrorism, and other threats to their safety while safeguarding our civil rights... They do so at great personal sacrifice and risk, and I am honored to work with them."

Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported that a statement from the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association—a professional organization representing 31,000 federal law enforcement officers and agents—on Wednesday evening said its agents had received "severe threats of violence" this week.

The organization's president Larry Cosme stated that "all law enforcement entities understand that their work makes them a target for criminal entities... However, politically motivated violent threats against the FBI this week are unprecedented in recent history and completely unacceptable."

It is noteworthy that an armed man approached the visitor screening area at the Cincinnati field office of the FBI on Thursday, fled when confronted by agents, and exchanged gunfire with police later.

After fleeing the FBI office, the man was pursued on Highway 71, which was then closed in both directions.

The Clinton County Emergency Management Agency stated that the man, who was wearing body armor, exchanged fire with police.

This incident came a day after the FBI director warned of threats circulating online against agents and the Department of Justice following the bureau's search of former President Donald Trump's home in Mar-a-Lago.