US Secret Service probes ‘Clarion call’ to ‘kill’ Trump
WASHINGTON—Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem said Thursday that federal law enforcement is investigating a social media post made by former FBI director James Comey that she and other Republicans say is a call for violence against President Donald Trump.
In an Instagram post earlier in the day, Comey wrote “cool shell formation on my beach walk” under a picture of seashells that appeared to form the shapes for “86 47.”
Numerous Trump administration officials, including Noem, interpreted the post as Comey advocating for the assassination of Trump, the 47th president.
“DHS and Secret Service is investigating this threat and will respond appropriately,” Noem wrote.
Trump has been the target of two assassination attempts in 10 months. The first was on July 13, 2024, during the presidential campaign in Butler, Pennsylvania. It happened five days after then-president Joe Biden said that “It’s time to put Trump in the bullseye.” He later said that he misspoke.
Then, on Sept. 15, 2024, a shooter was accosted while then Republican presidential candidate was golfing in West Palm Beach, Florida.
‘To get rid of’
Comey subsequently deleted his post and wrote, “I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message. I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence.
“It never occurred to me,” Comey added, “but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”
Merriam-Webster, the dictionary used by The Associated Press, says 86 is slang meaning “to throw out,” “to get rid of” or “to refuse service to.”
It notes: “Among the most recent senses adopted is a logical extension of the previous ones, with the meaning of ‘to kill.’ We do not enter this sense, due to its relative recency and sparseness of use.”
Comey’s original post sparked outrage among Conservatives on social media, with Donald Trump Jr. accusing Comey of calling for his father’s killing.
Delicate time
Current FBI director Kash Patel said he was aware of the post and was conferring with the Secret Service and its director.
James Blair, White House deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs, noted that the post came at a delicate time given that Trump is traveling in the Middle East.
“This is a Clarion Call from Jim Comey to terrorists & hostile regimes to kill the President of the United States as he travels in the Middle East,” Blair wrote on X.
