President Donald Trump used his speech at the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action in Indianapolis on Friday to tell an audience of thousands there was an attempted coup on his administration.

"You see it now with all of the resignations of bad apples, they're bad apples. They tried for a coup. Didn't work out so well," he said, receiving applause and cheers.

"And I didn’t need a gun for that one, did I?" Laughter echoed through the crowd.

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It was not clear to which resignations the president was referring.

Trump said that this was all happening "at the highest levels in Washington, D.C."

"You've been looking at things that you wouldn't have believed possible in our country," he continued. "Corruption at the highest level. A disgrace. Spying, surveillance. Trying for an overthrow. And we caught 'em. We caught 'em."

While Trump did not specify in his speech the exact events he was referencing, in an interview last night with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump called the FBI probe into his 2016 campaign and subsequent investigations into Russian election meddling “an attempted overthrow" of his administration.

The report, released earlier this month, did not conclude that Trump's actions were illegal, but also pointedly refused to clear him of wrongdoing, stating "if we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the president clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state.”

Email IndyStar reporter Kellie Hwang at kellie.hwang@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter: @KellieHwang.

Call IndyStar reporter Amy Bartner at 317-444-6752. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Contact IndyStar reporter Tony Cook at 317-444-6081 or tony.cook@indystar.com. Follow him on Facebook or Twitter: @IndyStarTony.