The circumstances were not immediately clear. Spokespeople for the FBI and the Justice Department did not return messages seeking comment on Monday evening.

“After working and co-operating with the relevant government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate,” Trump said in his statement.

Mar-a-Lago “is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents”, he said. “They even broke into my safe.”

The action comes as Trump has been laying the groundwork to make another bid for president.

The Justice Department has been investigating the discovery of boxes of records containing classified information that were taken to Mar-a-Lago after Trump’s presidency had concluded.

That matter was referred to the Justice Department by the National Archives and Records Administration, which said it had found classified material in 15 boxes at the residence.

Federal law bars the removal of classified documents to unauthorised locations, though it is possible that Trump could try to argue that, as president, he was the ultimate declassification authority.

It was not clear whether the FBI search was connected to that probe.

A separate investigation related to efforts by Trump allies to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election and the January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol has also been intensifying in Washington.