Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says the Secret Service is reviewing an Instagram post by former FBI Director James Comey.
The post showed seashells arranged to form the numbers "86 47" — a combination some interpreted as a coded call for violence against former President Donald Trump, the 47th president.
“Disgraced former FBI Director James Comey just called for the assassination of @POTUS Trump,” Noem alleged.
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Comey has since deleted the post and denied any malicious intent.
“I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message,” Comey said in a follow-up post. “I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me, but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”
Comey served as FBI director under both Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, but was fired by Trump in 2017 amid the bureau’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
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