Trump officials suggest ex-FBI director's social media post was call for violence against Trump

The Associated Press

· Posted: May 15, 2025 9:45 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Thursday that national instrumentality enforcement is investigating a societal media station made by erstwhile FBI Director James Comey that she and different Republicans suggest is simply a telephone for unit against U.S. President Donald Trump.

In an Instagram post, Comey wrote "cool ammunition enactment connected my formation walk" nether a representation of seashells that appeared to signifier the shapes for "86 47."

Numerous Trump medication officials, including Noem, said Comey was advocating for the assassination of Trump, the 47th president. "DHS and Secret Service is investigating this menace and volition respond appropriately," Noem wrote connected X.

Merriam-Webster, the dictionary utilized by The Associated Press, says 86 is slang meaning "to propulsion out," "to get escaped of" oregon "to garbage work to." It notes: "Among the astir caller senses adopted is simply a logical hold of the erstwhile ones, with the meaning of 'to kill.' We bash not participate this sense, owed to its comparative recency and sparseness of use."

The station has since been deleted. Comey subsequently wrote, "I posted earlier a representation of immoderate shells I saw contiguous connected a formation walk, which I assumed were a governmental message. I didn't recognize immoderate folks subordinate those numbers with violence.

"It ne'er occurred to me," Comey added, "but I reason unit of immoderate benignant truthful I took the station down."

Outrage among conservatives

Comey's archetypal station sparked outrage among conservatives connected societal media, with Donald Trump Jr. accusing Comey of calling for his father's killing.

Current FBI Director Kash Patel said helium was alert of the station and was conferring with the U.S. Secret Service and its director.

James Blair, White House lawman main of unit for legislative, governmental and nationalist affairs, noted that the station came astatine a delicate clip fixed that Trump is travelling successful the Middle East.

"This is simply a Clarion Call from Jim Comey to terrorists & hostile regimes to termination the President of the United States arsenic helium travels successful the Middle East," Blair wrote connected X.

Comey, who was FBI manager from 2013 to 2017, was fired by Trump during the president's archetypal word amid the bureau's probe into allegations of ties betwixt Russian officials and Trump's 2016 statesmanlike campaign. Comey wrote astir his vocation successful the best-selling memoir A Higher Loyalty.

He is present a transgression fabrication writer and is promoting his latest book, FDR Drive, which is being released connected Tuesday.