BURSTDirector of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard accused former FBI Director James Comey of “issuing a hit” on President Trump late Thursday, arguing he should be "put behind bars" after posting a photo seen as threatening online.
In his post on Instagram, which has since been deleted, Comey shared an image of seashells arranged to make up the numbers "8647."
“When we have two assassination attempts on the president's life, when we have people who look to guys like Comey, [who have] been celebrated by MSNBC and the Democrat elite and CNN as the beacon of integrity, the law and order guy, the guy who would tell the truth no matter what the consequences, this is the guy who's issuing a hit on President Trump, the president that the American people voted for,” Gabbard said Thursday in an appearance on Fox News.
“So, it's guys like Comey and others who call the president the modern-day Nazi, people who are in positions of influence who are saying that President Trump poses an existential threat to our country,” she told host Jesse Watters.
Comey, a longtime Trump critic, caught significant blowback from the president's base late Thursday for posting a photo on Instagram of seashells laid out to show numbers “8647,” with many interpreting it as a call for violence against the president — as the term "86" is often used in restaurants and bars to signify that something should be removed from the system.
Others have also suggested the number “86” might be Comey calling for Trump, the 47th president, to be impeached.
Hours later, the former FBI chief removed the photo and replaced it with a new post clarifying that he did not mean to call for violence and did not think the photo would be interpreted that way.
“I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence,” Comey wrote in the updated post. “It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem accused him of calling for Trump’s “assassination” and added that federal law enforcement officials are probing the “threat.”
Gabbard told Watters that Comey should be in jail and that she is “very concerned” for the president's life.
“We've already seen assassination attempts. I'm very concerned for his life," she said. "And James Comey, in my view, should be held accountable and put behind bars for this."
The former FBI director was fired during Trump's first term in office. He later supported former Vice President Harris in the 2024 presidential election.