A Florida man on Wednesday commissioned a plane to pull a sky banner with the message “Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha” and fly over Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home as supporters of the former president rallied outside to protest of this week’s FBI search of the home.
Miami resident Thomas Kennedy told USA TODAY Thursday that he and a handful of friends paid $1,800 to fly the banner for four hours Wednesday near Trump’s estate in Palm Beach.
“We thought it would be funny,” Kennedy, a self-professed Trump critic and Democratic activist said. “From our perspective, Trump is a bully and we wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine.”
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“We got a little message flying over Mar-a-Lago for Trump and the losers gathered there,” he posted on Twitter as the plane soared above him in the sky.
Kennedy, 31, said the message was for both Trump and his supporters who had gathered near the estate for a third day this week.
“My message to them would be do something better with your time,” Kennedy, a Democratic National Committee member from Florida said. “I would do it again. One hundred percent.”
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On Monday, agents searched Trump’s residence and his safe in what sources familiar with the matter have told USA TODAY is an investigation related to Trump’s removal of classified documents from the White House when he left office.
Officials said Trump stored the records at Mar-a-Lago for up to a year, a potentially serious violation of the law if the records were classified.
Trump has denounced the investigation saying he was entitled to take the records and called the action part of a “witch hunt.” However, Trump appointed current FBI Director Christopher Wray during his presidency.
Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.