FBI raid on Trump’s residence takes US into uncharted territory

Unprecedented search of an ex-president's home for official documents provoked outrage from supporters but proving intent will be key to any charge by the Department of Justice

The news that sent tremors across America broke at 6.36pm on Monday when the publisher of an obscure Florida politics website tweeted that the FBI had raided Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home, adding with a pinch of self-deprecation: TBH, I'm not a strong enough reporter to hunt this down, but it's real."

Eighteen minutes later another Florida resident responded to the news with more bombast. These are dark times for our nation, as my beautiful home ... is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents," the former president said in an enraged statement.