Former FBI Director James Comey under investigation for post seen as a potential threat to Trump's life

[LetMyPeopleVote]

34. Comey under investigation for 'threat' to Trump on social media, officials say

The Trump administration accused the former FBI director of insinuating a call to violence in his Instagram post, which he denied. Any such charges will be bogus,

Decry weaponization of justice, pretend Musk didn't perform a Nazi salute, but accuse the former FBI of making a death threat.

Ok.

Comey under investigation for ‘threat’ to Trump on social media, officials say

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

— David Schatsky (@dschatsky.bsky.social) 2025-05-16T14:29:35.716Z

Link to tweet

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/05/16/james-comey-trump-86-fbi/

David Cole, a law professor at Georgetown University, said there is “absolutely no basis” to investigate Comey for allegedly threatening Trump’s life. The Supreme Court has set a “very high standard” in such cases, Cole added, and there is “no way in the world that a photo of this beach arrangement constitutes that.”

“Anyone who has studied any First Amendment law would realize this was protected speech," said Cole, the former national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union. "It might not have been the most discreet or professional post, but it’s 100 percent protected. If anyone should understand the value of indiscreet and irresponsible but nonetheless protected posts on social media, it’s Donald Trump.”

Used as a verb, “86” originated in hospitality, meaning to refuse service to a customer or that a menu item was not available, and its use expanded over time to broadly refer to rejecting, dismissing or removing, according to its dictionary definition. It can also refer to killing something or someone......

And during the 2024 election, Trump shared a video on social media that showed a supporter’s pickup truck driving down a road with a graphic on its tailgate that depicted President Joe Biden tied up. In response, Biden’s campaign accused Trump of “regularly inciting political violence.”

At least one other well-known Republican official has used the term “86” before. In February 2024, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) boasted on X that his political allies had “86’d” three party leaders in recent months. He was responding to the news that Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell would step down from his leadership post in November of that year.

In 2022, the far-right activist Jack Posobiec wrote an X post that said only, “86 46.” Biden was serving as the 46th president at the time. Posobiec is a vocal Trump supporter who has been promoted by Trump on social media and invited to participate in a “new media” briefing at the White House during his second term.