Former FBI chief accused of calling for Trump's assassination

Former FBI director James Comey was accused of calling for President Donald Trump's assassination after he posted a cryptic message on social media Thursday.

"Disgraced former FBI Director James Comey just called for the assassination of @POTUS Trump.

"DHS and Secret Service is investigating this threat and will respond appropriately," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on X.

Her remarks came after Comey posted a photo on Instagram showing seashells arranged in the formation “86 47” with the caption: “Cool shell formation on my beach walk."

The term "86" has been colloquially associated with eliminating something or someone. The Merriam-Webster dictionary has defined it as to "refuse to serve (a customer)" or to "get rid of" or "throw out" someone or something. Meanwhile, “47” was seen as a reference to Trump, who is the 47th president of the United States.

Although Comey quickly deleted the photo, it was widely shared on social media.

Donald Trump Jr. weighed in on the post.

"Just James Comey casually calling for my dad to be murdered. This is who the Dem-Media worships. Demented!!!!" he said.

Comey later shared a statement on Instagram insisting that it was a mistake.

"I posted 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, but I oppose violence of any kind, so I took the post down," he wrote.

Dan Scavino, Trump's deputy chief of staff, said Comey "truly is a POS."

"While he'll claim not to know what 8647 means, there's no doubt that the former disgraced FBI Dir. knows exactly what he's doing, with a plea to bad actors/terrorists to assassinate the POTUS' while traveling internationally. Don't let him get away with it!!" Scavino said on X.