FBI Director Patel says man who threatened Trump used same message as Comey's 'destructive' Instagram post

FBI Director Kash Patel took to societal media connected Tuesday to condemn a erstwhile Coast Guard serviceman who was arrested for allegedly threatening to assassinate President Donald Trump, which Patel claimed resulted, successful part, from a "destructive" Instagram station shared earlier this twelvemonth by his predecessor, erstwhile FBI manager James Comey. 

"This is simply a feline who threatened President Trump’s beingness utilizing the ‘86 47’ language," Patel said of Peter Stinson, the erstwhile Coast Guard authoritative who was charged with making threats to termination the president. Stinson, who served from 1988 to 2021 successful the Coast Guard – wherever helium held roles arsenic a sharpshooter and FEMA teacher – volition look successful national tribunal for the archetypal clip connected Wednesday.

Stinson appears to person made multiple, graphic threats against President Donald Trump, according to tribunal documents, including 13 references to the "86 47" connection shared successful a now-deleted Instagram station by erstwhile FBI manager James Comey. 

Comey successful May posted a photograph of shells arranged successful the soil with the fig "86 47" connected Instagram. The post, which helium deleted hours later, prompted backlash, including from Trump himself, and sparked astatine slightest 2 interviews with the Secret Service, arsenic Comey aboriginal detailed.

COMEY CLAIMS HE HAD NO 'DARK INTENTION' WITH '86 47' SEASHELL POST, ISN'T SCARED OF TRUMP

Kash Patel (Getty Images)

The erstwhile FBI manager has said successful multiple nationalist interviews since that helium did not person immoderate acheronian intentions successful sharing the photograph and that his woman had associated it with her clip arsenic a edifice server to mean taking thing disconnected the menu. 

According to Merriman Webster, "86" is slang that tin mean "to propulsion out," "to get escaped of" oregon "to garbage work to." Trump, of course, is the 47th president. 

"I regret the distraction and the contention astir it," Comey said of the incidental connected MSNBC. "But again, it’s hard to person regret astir thing that, adjacent successful hindsight, looks to maine to beryllium wholly innocent." 

Comey is not presently nether probe for the station and has said that neither helium nor his wife, who was with him astatine the time, believed it had immoderate nefarious meaning.

Still, the Comeys' repeated nationalist statements and his compliance with Secret Service unit person done small to assuage immoderate Trump medication officials, including Patel, who present has Comey's erstwhile job. 

"Tragically, this lawsuit was predictable," Patel told Fox News Digital connected Tuesday successful respect to Stinson's alleged threats. 

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(BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

"When erstwhile Director Comey archetypal pulled his destructive Instagram stunt, it forced the FBI to propulsion galore agents disconnected of captious portfolios, taking cardinal unit distant from important initiatives protecting the American radical to woody with an overwhelming fig of copycats pursuing Comey’s pb and posting threatening messages against the president of the United States," Patel said.

"Thankfully, instrumentality enforcement did fantabulous enactment preventing a imaginable convulsive actor, and we’ll proceed to beryllium connected guard," helium added.

Stinson is simply a Northern Virginia resident, and portion it is unclear to what grade Stinson was influenced by the Comey Instagram station oregon the resulting media sum of it, tribunal documents amusement that galore of Stinson's threats were posted agelong beforehand, including successful the run-up to Election Day and during the 2024 statesmanlike campaign. 

Stinson, a "self-identified" subordinate of Antifa, made astatine slightest 1 menace appearing to invoke the July 13 assassination effort against Trump portion helium campaigned successful Butler, Pennsylvania.

"Those concealed work agents moved precise slowly," Stinson said successful a station astatine the time. "They near him successful the unfastened mode to (sic) long. A missed accidental volition not travel astir again. They volition thatch this to aboriginal agents arsenic a nonaccomplishment to support and act." 

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Donald Trump (Rick Scuteri)

In February, Stinson posted connected his X account, "Sure. This is war. Sides volition beryllium drawn. Antifa ever wins successful the end. Violence is inherently necessary." 

The astir caller station referenced successful the papers was published connected BlueSky connected June 11, erstwhile Stinson allegedly wrote, "When helium dies, the enactment is going to beryllium yuge."

Comey did not instantly respond to Fox News Digital's petition for remark connected Patel's remarks nor connected immoderate relation that the Instagram station successful question whitethorn person inadvertently played successful the case.

News of Stinson's apprehension comes aft a national expansive assemblage indicted a San Bernardino County, California, antheral conscionable weeks earlier for allegedly threatening to assassinate then-President-elect Donald Trump aft helium was elected to a 2nd White House term.

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"This suspect is charged with threatening the beingness of our President – a antheral who has already survived 2 deranged attempts connected his life," Attorney General Pam Bondi said astatine the time.

"The Department of Justice takes these threats with the utmost seriousness and volition prosecute this transgression to the fullest grade of the law," Bondi added.

Fox News Digital's Andrea Margoli contributed to this report.