OAN Staff Abril Elfi
6:24 PM – Thursday, May 29, 2025
FBI Director Kash Patel has announced the organization has been overwhelmed by ‘copycat’ threats to Donald Trump’s life after James Comey’s “86 47” post.
On Wednesday, Patel appeared on Fox News’ “Special Report” hosted by Bret Baier. While there, he respond to comments Comey had made earlier during an appearance on CNN.
“Do you know how many copycats we’ve had to investigate as a result of that beachside venture from the former director?” Patel questioned.
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Patel stated that the increase in potential threats against Trump since Comey’s May 15th post has been so large that the FBI has had to devote significant resources – including agents trained in child sex crimes and drug trafficking – to investigate them.
“Do you know how many agents I’ve had to take offline from chasing down child sex predators, fentanyl traffickers, terrorists .. because everywhere across this country people are popping up on social media and think that a threat to the life of the president of the United States is a joke … and they can do it because [Comey] did it?” Patel said.
“That’s what I’m having to deal with every single day,” Patel fumed. “And that’s why I’m having to pull my agents and analysts off – because [Comey] thought it was funny to go out there and make a political statement.”
In a now deleted post, Comey posted a picture on Instagram of seashells arranged to form the numbers “8647.”
“Cool shell formation on my beach walk,” Comey had captioned the photo.
The number “86” is colloquially associated with the act of removing or eliminating something or someone — such as when a patron is “86’d” from a bar or restaurant after being too intoxicated or rowdy.
Therefore, the phrase “86 47” appears to convey a coded message advocating for the removal of the 47th president.
Comey said during an interview with MSNBC that he doesn’t expect criminal charges or any additional action from the Trump administration over the shell post, which he claims to be a “totally innocent” post.
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